The Fairytale of a Birdcage and a Well
by Chiheisen no Hikari
Summary: Elisabeth swore she wouldn't love anyone else than the boy that fell into a well and died. But then, in order to spare the king's life, she is given to a 'monster', who seems utterly familiar... Beauty and the Beast original/Märchen from Sound Horizon.
1. Proloque: Within this tiny Birdcage

A/N Hikari: Hi everyone! In celebration of Valentine's day, I've decided to start a new story!

*crowd cheering*

Again with Sound Horizon theme, this story is going to be Märchen/Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido centered Beauty and the Beast story! (Not the Disney version, mind you) So, not to make this author's note any longer, let the fairytale begin! Oh, and Happy Valentine's day!

**Disclaimer:** I will not say this again: Märchen and all the characters belong to Sound Horizon/Revo and Beauty and the Beast to… well… whoever invented it, not me anyway. Translation to the song lyrics is by **Defade**.

T is to be sure. Deal with it.

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Proloque

Within this Tiny Birdcage

On the edge of that forest, the place where they had played together, she looked as he walked further away. Clutching a doll in her hands she felt tears gathering to her eyes. At least… At least he could say goodbye! Suddenly she heard his voice, along with an older, female voice, talking.

"März, we remained too long in this forest, it's about time we…"

"Mother."

"What is it?"

"I'd like to say goodbye to my friend at least."

"I see. I'll make an exception for that child. Now go."

"Yes! I'm going now."

As she saw him turn around and rush back to her, she also ran towards him, as much as her dress allowed her to. They hugged as they reached each other. She tried to keep the tears in for as long as possible. As they separated she offered the doll to him.

"At least take this girl with you in my place."

Smilingly he accepted the gift, and in thanks pecked a small kiss on her lips. Her barrier finally gave in and the tears flowed down her cheeks. As he turned away again in order to return to his mother, she took his hand one last time.

"Mär…you'll definitely come for me, right?"

"Yes, I promise you…"

And with that he disappeared, leaving no trace behind but a still lingering feeling of his lips over hers. She was sad now, but he had promised. He had promised he would come back to her! And still…

"_The wise woman from the forest was burnt at the stake as a witch, and later on, I knew of his death…"_

Years after their last goodbye, she sat in her dark room, all alone looking up to the sky, pale moonlight lighting her beautiful face. Still, after all those years, she could still feel that feeling, the setting sun's warmth on her skin, and him…

_What the heartless passage of time has brought_

She stood up and walked to the window, the same one they had met at, the door to her cage which he had opened. All this talk about marriage lately… Could they not understand? Her heart already belonged to someone! The window flew open and her voice echoed throughout the grounds:

"_Until my impulses recede, they will fill me with lust  
But my ego knows, that __I shall never love anyone but him!"_

She barely heard the knock at her door, but turned around as she hear the sound of it opening, and a male voice talking to her.

"Come, your father is waiting."

She walked past the man quietly accepting whatever was coming at her, but within her mind she sang a song for the freedom that had been taken from her a long time ago. Along with her own voice, she could hear another voice singing along with her. Or was it just her imagination? Who knows…

**Within this tiny bird cage, a world that has lost you**_  
Within that tiny bird cage, a world that has lost its wings_

**Until I crash and burn, I shall fly like the moonlight…**_  
Until you crash and burn, fly like the moonlight…_

_

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_Hikari: How was the Proloque? Liked it? Hated? Hopefully not hated... REVIEW!_  
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	2. Out from the Birdcage

A/N Hikari: Here we go! A new chapter! The proloque was pretty much straight out from IdoIdo, but this is where things start going differently. Now, to not keep you waiting, let's stop this A/N here~!

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**Chapter 1: Out from the Birdcage**

Elisabeth von Wettin, young and beautiful, a perfect bride to anyone. How was it, that this girl would be sacrificed in order to save her "father", the king?

The said man had just returned from a trip to the kingdom after a fearful encounter with, dare to say, a monster. Yes, a monster indeed…

/FBW\

The king was lost in a forest, separated from his escorts, and came to an old castle. You would had thought it was abandoned, if it wasn't for the candle light that bleached the grounds from the windows. The king decided to enter the castle and ask to spend the night there, as dusk had already fallen upon the land. As he walked from the front gate, which had been open, he looked around the garden. He despised the sight, as the garden had been overgrown with wild roses. He hated wild roses, mainly because Elisabeth loved them. And was that a well in the middle of the garden? How ridiculous.

As he came to the door of the castle, he noticed, to his surprise, that the door also was open. Did they not shut their doors over night? Nevertheless he stepped in, since he was the king, there was no need to knock, now was there?

He eyed the rather dusty hall and noticed yet another half open door. As arrogant as he was, he approached the door and pushed it fully open. Behind it he found the dining hall, and a table set up for one. The food looked like it had been just set there. The king looked around, wondering if the master of the castle was around. When he saw no one, he presumed the food was meant for him. This, however, made him wonder if the residents of the castle had been aware of him coming ever since he stepped through the gate, or even before that?

In any case, they seemed to be welcoming him in, so why waste their hospitality? He sat down and ate most of the delicious food before standing up again, feeling tired. He looked around, and when he didn't see another door, he returned to the hall. Suddenly he heard a door opening somewhere on the upper level. As he didn't hear any footsteps, he again assumed this was part of their hospitality. Such odd people these were. He walked up the stairs, and as he looked around once more, true enough, there was a door half open along the hallway. Walking to it he opened it to reveal a bedroom easily fit for a king (though this one too was a bit dusty). Not bothering to undress he dropped on the bed and fell into a deep sleep…

The next morning the king woke up refreshed with a sneeze. This place really needed some cleaning. Tidying himself up he stepped out from the room and walked downstairs. Noticing the dining hall door open once again, he approached it to see the table set up for one again, this time for breakfast. He smirked and sat down to eat.

When he was done with his breakfast, he decided it was time for him to leave. The king was expected back in his castle after all. So, he took off to the garden and towards the gate. On his way he glanced at the wild roses and happened to imagine his 'daughter's' expression when her favorite flower was crumbled to little pieces. The thought made him chuckle evilly and he stopped to pick one of them. That was when the monster appeared.

The monster looked like a tall, pale (and rather handsome) man, accompanied by a little girl. He was dressed in black and red and had long black hair tied on a ponytail. You could see wisps of platinum among his hair. For some reason he was wearing chains all over his clothes, which made the king wonder how had he not heard him moving in the castle. Despite his handsome looks the king could feel that this man was no human, or at least not completely, for the aura around him seemed darker than any human being's should be. The girl was dressed in the same colors as the man, and she oddly reminded the king of Elisabeth when she was younger, the same kind of long blond hair on a similar hairdo, and the eyes, even if these were blue, not green, were similar, though these kept in such malice Elisabeth could never bear. The coldness which seemed to practically flow off the girl made them completely different. They both seemed so cold and looked so lifeless, with the pale skins and all, that if the duo hadn't been standing in front of him, he would had guessed them both to be dead.

"My, what an ungrateful guest we have", the girl said with a giggle, her voice colder than ice. The king had to wonder why the roses didn't wither thanks to that. The man smirked sending a chill down the king's spine.

"Indeed, Elise. First he eats our food, sleeps within our guestroom and then thanks us with taking our roses", he said with a voice that could had belonged to the Death himself.

"How awful~", the girl, Elise, giggled again. "We should probably punish him for this." Why did that playfully freezing sound seem to grab onto something inside him and start pulling it out, bringing all his fears to the outer levels of his mind? Everything he had ever feared appeared to come together in these two. He panicked.

"N-No! Spare me!" He tried to desperately think of something that would convince them not to 'punish' him, since whatever the punishment was, it had to be more painful he could even imagine. It wouldn't probably help if he told them what he was going to use the flower for, so he decided to give them an edited version of it. "It is for my daughter! She loves wild roses, and we don't have them where we live!" Also he didn't mention that he was the one ordering the roses' demise.

The pale man raised an eyebrow at this. Had he believed it? Suddenly another unnerving smile appeared on his lips.

"Oh? Then should that daughter of yours pay for your insolence instead?" Elise looked up to her partner questioningly as the king saw a glitter of hope. He nodded eagerly not acknowledging the hint of disgust behind the man's eyes.

"Fine, then. I will let you go, as long as you send your child to us" he said before turning around and walking back towards the castle, Elise right behind him, leaving the king alone the sound of the chains ringing in his ears.

After this encounter he quickly left the castle grounds careful not to step on any of those flowers he hated now even more. When he was out from the gate it didn't take him long to find his escorts and returning home. Not wanting to take a risk of the duo finding him and conducting their 'punishment' on him, he immediately called for Elisabeth…

/FBW\

"Why did you let him go, Mär?" Elise asked as she sped up her walking on the side of her counterpart. "He lied to us, and certainly deserved a punishment!" Mär stopped and looked down to her smirking.

"Oh, he's getting what's coming to him, don't you worry about that", he said charmingly. This, however, didn't please Elise.

"Then why?" She didn't need to ask a full question, as she knew Mär would understand what she meant. The smirk changed to a more evil one as he answered.

"Why, we might get a revenge out from that girl", he said simply before starting off again. The doll looked after him for a few seconds before smiling evilly and all but running after him.

"Ahahahaha~!"

/FBW\

"Your Highness, I've brought the lady."

A chill ran up and down the king's spine when Elisabeth entered the throne room. She indeed looked like Elise, that almost doll-like girl whose figure had burned itself onto his memory. He would probably remember that encounter for the rest of his life.

"Elisabeth. When I was out I encountered a monster", he said hoping to see her squirming with fear. He was disappointed when she didn't, but continued anyway. "In order to get away, I had to promise to give you in exchange." This evoked gasps from all around the room, and the king finally saw slight emotion on the young woman's face. It wasn't exactly squirming, but would do for now. Elisabeth closed her green eyes and seemed to think for a while. Then she opened them again she wore that confidence he hated over all.

"Brother, I-"

"Haven't I told you to call me 'father'?" Such a despiteful girl she was. She didn't know her place. Well, that would be fixed soon enough. This time too she ignored his comment, such insolence.

"Brother, when shall I leave?" This caught the king off guard. She was willing to go? Off to a monster? Well, if anything else, this made things a lot easier. And now that he thought of it, this brought two birds down with only one stone! He got rid of Elisabeth AND got those two and their punishment off his mind. With that thought the king smirked.

"Right away!"

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A/N Hikari: And that's it for now~ I love to make that stupid king squirm, since he originally crucified Elisabeth... Anyway~! Hope this is fine like this.

On another note: OMG! I have my first ever review (on this account)! **Schauspielerinnen**, thank you! As you may have noticed, I changed the z to s on her name. Such an embarrasing mistake of me... But, anyhow I'm dedicating this chapter to you just for the pure happiness of gaining my first review (on this account)!

As for all you other readers, take an example and REVIEW!


	3. And into the Well

A/N: Hikari: Haaaaah~ Sorry for the wait! Had to get my beta reading onee-chan to read it first before getting it up~ But, here we go!

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Chapter 2: And into the Well

Whatever Elisabeth had been expecting, it certainly wasn't a grand castle glittering in the late sunlight. For a 'monster', as her brother had called it, this place was a beautiful place to live. Completed with a garden of wild roses, she thought this wasn't a half bad place to die, which she was sure to happen to her. Since wasn't that what usually happened to women who are given to beasts? Of course, she had no idea what this 'monster' looked like. Her brother had refused to tell anyone more than main parts of his encounter with it.

She had to admit, she was slightly frightened. What did the 'monster' look like? Was it a hideous beast with glowing eyes and scales? Or something worse? Swallowing she took a step ahead from the spot she had been left at the gate of the castle. She wouldn't run from this fate.

As Elisabeth looked around her in the garden, she found herself enchanted by the beautiful roses. How charming each and every single one of them was, how lovely was their scent, each ever so slightly different from another. She had a faint smile on her lips as she slowly walked around the garden, blissfully forgetting the reason she came there in the first place.

Suddenly she saw an old well surrounded by the wild roses. She tilted her head a little and approached it. She had never liked wells, ever since the death of her love, but something about the well interested her. It was as if it was calling her, and despite the horrible feeling that overcame her while looking at it, she felt herself drawn to it. She extended her hand to touch the stone surface…

"You should be careful around wells, you just might fall in."

Elisabeth quickly snatched her hand away and turned to the direction of the unknown male voice so fast that she could feel her neck snap. When she did, she saw a man, taller than herself, dressed in black and red and… were those chains? He was awfully pale and had long black and platinum hair contrasting it. He wore an amused smirk on his face making Elisabeth blush a bit in embarrasement. But while she did, she wondered who this man was. A fellow prisoner of the monster? That would make sense, probably. Still, better to be sure.

"And, may I ask who you might be?" Her voice trembled slightly and she hoped the man wouldn't notice. Apparently he did, as he chuckled before answering. Great.

"One should introduce oneself before asking the other's name, but I'll let it slide this time", he said playfully and bowed somewhat mockingly. As mocking as the bow was, she wasn't the least offended by it. However, she found the move familiar, even though she couldn't quite put a finger on the reason for it. "My name is-."

"Mär! Where are you?" A sudden call cut the man off before he could say his name. With a sigh he straightened, looking slightly annoyed. The annoyance was swiftly wiped off as the caller appeared from behind a bush, and Elisabeth's eyes widened in surprise. The little girl looked almost exactly like her! Blonde hair, similar structure… Had the girl been older, they could have been twins! As the girl looked over where they stood, she froze for a moment before walking up to them her small feet moving very, VERY fast.

"Mär! I've been looking all over for you! You shouldn't leave me behind like that", the girl said and pouted slightly before looking at Elisabeth. "And who is this?" Elisabeth was taken aback by the bluntness of the girls words. The man didn't seem all that pleased either, but he smiled and patted the girl on her head.

"Now now, Elise. Let's not forget our manners in front of a guest", he said with the playful tone he had used earlier. The girl, Elise, looked at the man, then at Elisabeth and back to the man again. Then she sighed.

"Fine…" Obviously very disdainfully she curtsied raising her dress as she did. She didn't say anything, however. It seemed like she would only talk to the man she called Mär. _Mär… That name… He has the same nickname... if it indeed is a nickname._ The said man shook his head a bit before turning back to Elisabeth. The young woman tensed slightly. Somewhere in the back of her head she half expected to hear the same introducion as she had heard many years ago...

"As I was saying before, I am called Märchen von Friedhof, and this lovely lady is Elise", he said smilingly. Elisabeth felt a wave of disappointment wash over her as her muscles relaxed. _Of course not, you idiot. He is dead…_ Before the duo could see her disappointment she curtsied also.

"A pleasure to meet you both. My name is Elisabeth von Wettin", she said while looking at the ground trying to settle down. As this was the case, she couldn't see the faces of the two. Elise's eyes widened and she glanced up to Märchen, who frowned a bit, as if he was trying to catch a thought the name had brought up, but failing. By the time Elisabeth looked back to them, they were back to their previous expressions. Märchen smiled at her.

"Now, why don't we go inside? It is getting rather cold out here, don't you think?" Now that she thought of it, Elisabeth noticed it too. She was about to nod when she suddenly remembered the cause of her arrival. It must have had shown on her face, as Märchen tilted his head as he looked at her.

"Is something the matter?" Elisabeth blinked. She wasn't sure if she should mention the monster or not, but in the end she couldn't help it.

"Wh… What about the m… monster..?" She held her breath waiting for answer. To her surprise Märchen blinked this time and looked questioning. When he didn't say anything, she felt the need to explain. "M-My brother sent me here as a payment to it for letting him go…" She trailed off when she saw the man's expression change. She couldn't quite figure out what the expression meant. Anger? Amusement? Fear? Or perhaps confusion? Finally, however, he smirked in a way that sent chills run up her back.

"You don't need to worry about it, milady", he said simply before offering his hand to Elise, who took it eagerly, and starting off towards the castle. After a short moment, Elisabeth followed, walking slowly, but fast enough to keep up with the duo. While she did, she thought of his words, and the man himself. Märchen von Friedhof, huh? That meant a 'fairytale from the graveyard', didn't it? Quite the odd name. But there seemed to be something even stranger things about him, so she didn't think about it further. For an example, why hadn't she heard him come, even though he was wearing all those chains, and they were making quite bit of noise as he walked few yards from her? And what had he meant by not to worry? Her brother had been frightened to even mention the monster, so why was there no reason to worry?

Everything was so very confusing…

As they stepped through the huge wooden doors of the castle, Elisabeth, like the king had, noticed how dusty the entrance hall was. It didn't bother her though, as if anything, the dust quieted down their steps. It didn't help on the chains' noise, however, which added a weird element to the dark hall's atmosphere. The place wasn't scary, just a bit… unsettling. She realized she had stopped and the duo had gotten a lot further away, walking up the stairs now. She quickly followed, wondering where they were going.

At the second floor, after walking through many hallways (which she forgot to count, as she had been admiring paintings that were hung on the walls), Märchen and his companion stopped in front of a door, turning to her.

"This will be your room from now on", he said opening the door and stepping aside allowing Elisabeth to see the room. She hesitantly stepped forward to take a look and gasped in surprise. She had expected the room to be dark and dusty, like everywhere else, but in truth it was clean and the setting sun lightened it up with beautiful orange light. Walking to the centre of the room she looked around her in awe, thus missing the expression on Elise's doll-like features. The girl looked beyond annoyed, and it was a pure miracle she refrained from saying anything. Elisabeth wasn't the only one who missed this, as Märchen was currently looking at the young woman with unreadable face. He finally looked away raising a hand to shield his eyes, as if the light was hurting them.

"We are having dinner later today, and it would be lovely if you'd join us at downstairs", he said as Elisabeth turned around to look back to them, "You'll know when to come." With that mysterious comment he closed the door without waiting for her answer. Elisabeth tilted her head at this, but shrugged it off and sat on the bed, tired from the trip here and all the walking around. Sighing she closed her eyes wondering about the peculiar castle she had stepped in. Questions popped in her head and out at a speeding rate. As she focused on them, she didn't notice a one sided quarrel echoing in the hallway…

/FBW\

"Mär! What's the meaning of this?" The high pitched voice sounded angry. No, not angry, Elise was fuming mad. "Why did you give her that room? Weren't we supposed to get a revenge out from her? How's that going to happen if she _likes_ it here?" She went on and on with her questions while trying to keep up with the tall man. Märchen himself paid no attention to her, nor did he need to, as he was thinking about the very same questions. Why indeed? And why did she look so familiar, other than the resemblance to Elise? He hadn't met her before, had he? No, couldn't remember such encounter. So what was this odd feeling he had?

Well, whatever it was, it could wait. Probably. He had more important things to do…

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A/N: Hikari: What could the 'more important things' be? You'll (probably) see in the next chapter~! Hmmm... Have to be careful on what to promise, since my head is so full of ideas right now!

So, how was this one~? I'm waiting for the reviews, as I've now realised that they're fueling my inspiration! How awesome is that?

Thank you again to** Schauspielerinnen **(or dawntodusk, however I should call you) and to **SoundIncomplete** from the forum. Your humble writer will keep on writing~!

As for all the others-I-have-no-knowledge-of-but-I-know-you-are-there: **REVIEW!**

EDIT: I did it again... dawntodusk, thank you for pointing the name out... Actually this chapter was written before you pointed it out the first time, and I failed to notice it now... But now it's changed!**  
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	4. The Doll Singing of Murderous Intent

A/N: Hikari: Uwaaaaah~! So sorry for the delay! I was a bit stuck at this one... But now it's up! Please, enjoy!

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Chapter 3: The Doll Singing of Murderous Intent

A long sigh echoed in the room. Elisabeth had been waiting for a couple of hours now for a sign or something. Märchen had said she would know when to go downstairs, hadn't he? After he had left with Elise, Elisabeth had looked around the room, getting to know it, as she was going to live there, right?

The room was fairly large, but not large enough to make her feel nervous or out of place. Actually the room resembled closely of a certain room at the bottom floor of her home, a room where she used to spend a lot of her time in back when she was little. Back when… She shook her head. She had decided to think positively, and remembering him didn't help at it. She focused back to the room.

The furniture was simple yet elegant looking, including a writing desk along with a chair, a rather big wardrobe and large bed which had curtains matching to the ones on the window.

After Elisabeth was done investigating her surroundings, she had absolutely nothing to do. She didn't dare to look around the castle, as she found herself anxious of the thought that she could meet the monster while she did. But her room didn't have much to do either, other than trying on the outfits found in the wardrobe, which she wasn't interested in.

So, now she was simply laying on the bed and staring at the roof. The late sunlight had already faded away and had been replaced by a night illuminated by the silver moon that was steadily rising high up to the starry sky. She could barely see it from her spot when she looked toward the window it shone through.

Suddenly a loud noise that seemed to echo throughout the castle startled her up to her feet. It sounded like a bell from the church back home, though way more louder.

"So… That's the sign?" Her heart had skipped a beat or two due to the scare the bell caused. She was bound to never get used to it. She brushed her dress straight before starting off to the lower floor. Opening the door of her room she looked left and right at the long hallway.

"Surely it was right… right?" she questioned herself. Yes, when they had come to the room, the door had been on the left side of the hallway. Elisabeth nodded to herself and walked out closing the door behind her. Walking in the stretched corridor she started hoping she had payed more attention on where they had been going than on the paintings. _Wait… Paintings? That's it!_ Looking around she spotted one of the works of art she had seen on the way. She started following them, smiling at her discovery. She would be back down in no time at all!

/FBW\

…or so she had thought. Elisabeth first noticed something was off when she saw a painting she hadn't seen before between two she had, and one of those two was supposed to be near the stairs, but…

She looked around her and soon realized that she couldn't recognize any of the works of art she saw on the walls. She, Elisabeth von Wettin, was lost. She sighed deeply. _What am I going to do now..?_ As she looked around once more feeling troubled, her ears perked at a sound of footsteps. Very fast set of footsteps belonging to someone very light. She could only think of one person within this castle that matched that description.

Turning towards the sound she saw Elise, that small girl in her black and red dress mirroring her looks, walking towards her with an unreadable expression. Elisabeth sighed in relief and smiled at the girl. The girl's eyes seemed to narrow, or was it just a trick of light? It was fairly dark in the corridor, so it could had been. Nevertheless, Elise motioned her to follow and started walking to the direction Elizabeth had came from, and she quickly followed. The pressing silence between them was only cut by the sound of their steps, and Elisabeth felt like it should be broken. They were supposed to be living in the same place after all.

"Umm… Miss Elise?" The girl didn't even twitch at this. Elisabeth felt uneasy as the silence returned even more pressing than before. Taking a breath she tried again.

"Miss Elise? I was just wondering if…" She trailed off as the girl stopped. Blinking she noticed something change in the petite lady. Her aura seemed darken and darken to the point where Elisabeth had to resist the urge to take a step back. Slowly Elise turned to her direction.

"Let me make one thing clear to you", she said, and the venom in her voice made Elisabeth take that step back now. "If you make one, just ONE advance at him… I swear that you will fall, fall down just like we did…"

Before Elisabeth had time to ask what was it that the girl meant, Elise had already turned and started walking again with a fast pace which left no chance for her to talk. Following, Elisabeth thought of what she had said. The aura, that… that **murderous feeling** made her shiver as it still lingered in the atmosphere. What on earth had she done to make the girl so angry?

Soon after they got to the stairs walked down them, and Elisabeth sighed mentally in relief as she thought that her spent time alone with the girl was coming to an end. As they reached the dining room's door, she noted that the aura had completely disappeared and replaced with the same one as before, the first time they met. Opening the door they stepped in to see a grand table set for three and decorated with the wild roses from the garden. The smile returned to Elisabeth's lips and she glanced at Elise, only to find her missing from the spot she had been. Looking up she saw her with Märchen next to the left side wall he had been leaning to. As she looked at the two, he turned his look to her.

"Ah, Miss Elisabeth", he said smiling charmingly, "It seems I was right when I presumed you had gotten lost." Again he had that playful tone in his voice, spiced with a hint of boyish cockiness, yet maintaining the confidence and maturity of an adult. How could he manage that kind of voice? Elisabeth had to admire the way how his tone made her smile back at him.

"Yes, indeed you were right, Mr. von Friedhof", she said, earning an expression from him which included a tilt of his head combined with an amused smirk. Over all the expression was… dare to say… cute? _Ah, you are being rude! How can you call a grown man cute?_

"Please, do call me by my first name", Märchen said returning her back from her thoughts. As she was about to smile at this and perhaps give a comment back, she felt a familiar pair of evil-aura-filled eyes giving her an icy stare. So, she just stuck with a smile. _This is going to be a long evening…_

/FBW\

Annoyance? Yes. Frustration? Yes. Every existing synonym for them? Yes, and way more. That was all that filled Elise's mind at the moment. That insolent woman! All because of her, Mär had started to forget their mission, their grudge, their **revenge**! It was only a bit now, but if she let it continue, something unthinkable would happen. She had to find a way, any way at all to prevent it!

During the dinner she had managed to stop that woman from making any kind of attempt at "getting to know" **her** Mär. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the invader of their peace had left to her room. She had gotten a few "tips" of how to get there from Mär, so she got there without getting lost… again.

But perhaps now Elise could bring him back to their reality. Because now, tonight, they would get started on the punishment of that certain ungrateful man. Her lips curled up in a sadistic smile…

/FBW\

Only a few hours had passed since Elisabeth left. Only that much, and the king was starting to feel odd. The odd feeling had something to do with Elisabeth, that was for sure. Before you make any wishful thoughts, no, the feeling wasn't guilt. He would never feel guilty for doing something like sending her to a monster. It only served her well. No, it was not guilt. More like a premonition, like something bad was about to happen.

The feeling made him unnerved and he just couldn't stay still for one moment. As the sun set and wrapped the castle in a veil of darkness, he became more nervous by the minute, up to the point where he kept looking around, as if awaiting for someone, or something, to come and get him any second.

He sighed deeply as he was about to go to sleep. For the third time he had checked every possible corner of his room, and he still wasn't convinced that there was absolutely nothing there. He knew it was stupid and childish behavior. He knew it, but still…

"For God's sake, you are a king! You shouldn't let mere shadows and tricks of eyes scare you!" It felt ever so slightly better to say it out loud, so he braced himself and got to bed. There was nothing to fear, absolutely nothing…right?

And in the middle of the night, he would wake up at the sound he had been afraid to hear the most.

"Ahahahaha~!"

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A/N: Hikari: Wheeeee~! More reviews~! Shiawaseeeeee!

*cough* Now that that outbrust is done with, I thank for the reviews so far!

**dawntodusk**, **Haikara**-san, thank you, and a deep apology for my mistakes. I'll try to fix them as soon as I have time.

Also thanks to **pika318** for commenting~! Not planning on abandoning this one in a loooong while~ ^^

Regarding that lastly mentioned review, I'M BEING TALKED ABOUT BEHIND MY BACK! (okay, okay, my fanfic is, but still you know what I mean) Just kidding though, I was just suprised to hear that someone (coughdawntoduskcough) linked my story to the forums. (not to mention that I spent half an hour looking for it before understanding to put my account name to the search -.-')

Aaaaaanyway I'll try to get the next chapter up faster, unless I get stuck again (which Elise is not going to allow and if it still happens she'll keep me up aaaall night with that creepy laughter of hers... from the well in my backyard...untill I post it).

So, see ya all later~! Keep on reviewing!


	5. Songs in the Night

A/N: Hikari: *hiding under a blanket* Never underestimate a murderous doll... Here's the new chapter!

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Chapter 4: Songs in the Night

As she shut the door behind her, Elisabeth sighed for how-many-times-had-it-been time that day. She was sure that she would literally sigh the life out from her by the end of the week. That is, unless Elise would get it out first. Judging from the upsetting atmosphere that lasted throughout the dinner, the girl was ready to murder her way before the week was over. And she still had no idea why!

Resisting yet another sigh she looked up at her room. Thinking back at the odd directions Märchen had given, she found it surprising that she had actually found there without getting lost once.

/FBW\

"_Miss Elisabeth." The soft call of her name stopped the said noble woman on her tracks. Looking back to see Märchen coming towards her she turned to him fully and tilted her head._

"_Something the matter?" The man smiled stopping a few feet from her._

"_Not at all, I just assumed you would like some guidance back to your room", he said earning a confused look from Elisabeth, along with a suppressed glare from his doll-like companion. "There are a few things you should know when walking through the halls of this castle while not accompanied by either of us…"_

/FBW\

_She stood at the top of the stairs looking at the wall next to her skeptically. Would this really work? Such bizarre instructions she had been given. But, she didn't have a choice, now did she? Taking a step closer to the wall she held her hand up and reached for it._

_Then she knocked. One, two, three, four, five, six times. As her palm touched the surface the seventh time, she felt… a click of some kind in the air around her. What was that? She shook her head and focused. She wasn't done yet._

_Slowly she started walking, and after seven steps she stopped and closed her eyes for a moment. When she once again opened them, to her surprise she found herself in front of a familiar door…_

/FBW\

Bizarre indeed, she saw no sense in anything here. She suspected… no, scratch that, she was sure, that there was magic of some kind involved. _Well, of course there is, _she said chuckling slightly. It was obvious, now that she thought of it. How else was it possible for her to lose her way so easily? Not that her sense of direction was all that good, but at least she should had been able to direct that much. So it was bound to be magic. That, or someone was trying to make her think so, at the least, which she doubted, as she saw no reason nor gain for anyone to make her think that.

Setting the thoughts aside she stretched her arms above her head. It had been a long day and she needed rest. Glancing at the door the monster once again returned to her mind sending a chill up her spine. What if it would enter the room while she slept? Suddenly she shook her head. No, Märchen had told her not to worry about it. She would be safe. Probably.

Taking a deep breath Elisabeth resisted the urge to lock the door, as what use would it be anyway if the place really did have magic? Changing to a nightgown she found from the closet (as who in their right mind would take clothes along to a place where you are supposed to die? _Note, supposed_, she thought to herself) and climbed to the bed pulling the sheets over her.

Surprisingly, and fortunately, she fell asleep soon after. Unfortunately, however, her rest was not peaceful. Apparently all the remindment of her loved one followed her to the dream world, as the dream that night was of him…

/FBW\

_Darkness._

_That was all that surrounded her as she walked forward. She didn't know where she was going, nor where she was, but she knew she wouldn't stop. She couldn't._

_She didn't need to walk for long before her destination came to view. She recognized it instantly. The well. That well where… As she came closer, she saw someone standing on the edge of it, their back towards her. Her eyes widened when she realized who that someone was. No, that's dangerous! Come down from there! She started running. If only… if only she could catch him! Before..!_

"_Mär!"_

_The boy slowly turned around to reveal a pair of sad eyes and a faint smile. He was holding, no, clutching the doll she had gave him against his chest._

_His lips separated as he worded out a quiet plea. Her eyes widened once more. She sped up and reached her arms towards him. She could do it! She could save him!_

_But as she was just about to grasp him to safety, he fell. Like someone, or something, had pulled him down. She watched in horror as he fell down, down to the eternal abyss, the sad smile still lingering on his lips. His words hung in the air, repeating themselves over and over again._

"_Help me… Elisabeth…"_

/FBW\

Elisabeth woke up in the middle of the night. Was it the nightmare that woke her up, or the feeling of another presence in the room, she would never know. Nevertheless, as she glanced toward the window through her still drowsy eyes, she saw a figure illuminated by the moonlight. Only after she would wake up the next morning she would realize, that the figure was, in fact, her so-far host. But now, perhaps due to the dream she just had, he looked exactly what she had always imagined her loved one to look like when he would grow up. But, before she could wake up enough to reason herself that he was long dead, and that the figure couldn't possibly be him, she felt the heaviness of sleep overcome her once more.

Before she fell to slumber, she could feel her lips form the name of the figure she thought she was seeing. Then her eyes closed again, and thus she barely missed him turning towards her due to hearing a name that seemed distantly familiar.

/FBW\

Märchen had no idea why he had entered the room. All he knew was, that the moment he realized where he was, he had already been sitting on the windowsill for who knows how long. He could definitely not mention Elise about this. Even though she probably thought he hadn't noticed, she obviously hated Elisabeth. Most likely because of his behavior. Besides, it was most preposterous for a gentleman to enter a sleeping maiden's room! _Even if the said gentleman had done so before_, he thought with a sigh.

Why was he acting like this anyway? Elise was right, they couldn't get a revenge out from the woman like this. But somehow he couldn't bring himself to act otherwise around her. Why? It had been no problem before...

A sudden voice made him take a fleeting look at the assumedly sleeping female, only to find her resting contently, with no signs of waking up. Had she just called him in her sleep? No, now that he thought of it, the name she had said sounded slightly different. But wait. Had he heard that name somewhere before? But no matter how much he tried to remember, nothing came to him. What was going on?

Finally he shook his head. If he couldn't remember it, it probably wasn't anything important. Besides, he had things to do, did he not? So, standing up and walking to the door as quietly as he could with the chains he had he glanced at Elisabeth once more, before exiting the room, leaving her to her slumber.

* * *

A/N: Hikari: *still under the blanket* I got this one out later than expected... Which is why Elise really did keep me up! Ok, not really, though she did haunt on the back of my mind, as I've decided to make myself an Elise doll~ (along with Violette and Hortensia).

But, enough of that! *throws the blanket off* Onto the reviews!

**pika318** and **dawntodusk**: Mwahahaaaa! You won't be finding out the king's punishment untill later~! And dawntodusk, I don't mind, I was just surprised ^^.

**BraveNina**: Thank you~! I will ^^.

Oh~kay... This chapter was pretty much a filler. I'd like to ask ya'll if the way Elisabeth got back to her room was a good or bad idea. I have a growing idea for it, but I want to hear your opinions~!

Ok, over and out! *dives back under the blanket*


	6. Rosen Garten

A/N: Hikari: I'm soooooooooooooooooooo sorry that it took so long! I'll let you to the story now and explain later:

* * *

Chapter 5: Rosen Garten

As the sun rose steadily over the horizon, the fair rays of the golden sphere gently caressing her skin, Elisabeth woke up to see the new morning, the start of the seventh day of her stay at the castle. It had indeed been a whole week since her arrival, a fact she could hardly believe, as the time seemed to slow down within the grounds of the magnificent building. Instead of just a week, she felt like she had resided there for a month, at the least. Perhaps it had something to do with the nightmares she experienced now every single night. It was the most likely explanation, alongside with the fact that she was pretty much constantly under the surveillance of a certain Märchen-obsessed young girl.

The last bit had become quite the obvious fact during the last few days, as whenever Elisabeth as much as glanced at the said man, she immediately felt the icy stare on her back. It was like Elise was trying to drill holes through her using only her eyes as a tool, and Elisabeth was absolutely sure, that the doll-girl would succeed one of these days. She could only thank the advice Märchen had given her on the first night for not having to spend any more time alone with the girl on the hallways of the bizarre castle.

Sitting up she thought about the castle. Bizarre indeed. Where ever she went, everything seemed to change daily. The paintings were always on different positions than lastly, the furniture shifted places and even the doors and windows weren't always at the same spots. The dining hall's decorations changed too, varying from just different colors to completely different settings fully. The only things that remained the same were her own room, which somehow seemed to be on a completely different realm altogether when comparing to the rest of the building, and the wild rose filled garden where she found herself spending most of her time at. She had to wonder though, what was the purpose of all this constant change? And why hadn't her brother gotten lost when he had spent the night here?

Thinking about her brother brought her to think about the monster he had been so scared of. After all this time she had spent here she hadn't caught even a glimpse of anything that scary. Sure the whole castle had an unnerving atmosphere, and if you thought about it one could count Elise as a "monster" (though she would never say so), but the outright horrifying monster he had been so afraid to mention… Had it not been for the reaction she had got from Märchen on the first day, she would probably had thought that the king had imagined it all. The monster existed, but…

Shaking her head she stood up. She had gotten a few headaches from thinking about it, and all the answers she could get from her host were reassurances that she didn't need to worry about it. So, she decided to just stop and let the answers come if they were to come. She wasn't in a hurry, now was she?

Elisabeth changed her clothes and looked outside her window. The sun had already climbed high up while she had been thinking. She chuckled slightly. She got lost to her thoughts more and more lately. Well, she did have a lot to think about. Her nightmares were a great example of such things. As if seeing her beloved fall to the well over and over again every night, she also got a horrifying déjà-wu type of feeling from the darkness that surrounded her in every dream. She was not fond of that feeling.

She shook the memory of it away and, after taking a small breath of courage she took every morning, headed downstairs. Remembering the seven knocks and steps she found her way to the staircase and walked them down and turned to the dining hall. It was interesting how fast one could get used to things like this, though this brought up to her mind another strange bit of the castle. It seemed to be infested with number seven.

Where ever she went, she could always find at least one thing that was related to the number. Like seven windows in the dining room, there were seven entrances to the grounds from the outer world, even her dresser had seven… everything! Dresses, pairs of shoes… All seven. But, eventually, she had gotten used to that as well.

Opening the door to the dining hall she expected to find the usual duo already waiting for her, like always. Imagine her surprise when the only one she found was the tall-and-mysterious Märchen von Friedhof. Frantically looking around she tried to spot his usual companion, but no matter how much she looked, the room remained as Elise-less as before. A soft chuckle that echoed from the direction of Märchen snapped her attention back to the said man. Blushing slightly she breathed in the somewhat dusty air.

"Is… Miss Elise not around?" It was pretty much beyond unheard of for the girl to leave the man's side, as she seemed to be practically glued to him, save from the few times he asked her to do something for him. So, it was no wonder Elisabeth was confused, she ad right to be, so why did she feel the cheeks heat up in slight embarrassment when he gave her an amused smirk?

"Elise has a matter to attend to for the day", he said brightly as he motioned her to take a seat. He continued as she obeyed and sat down, "She'll be back in the evening." Was it just in her head, or did Märchen seem… happier today than usual? No, it was probably just her imagination. Though he did seem awfully talkative during the breakfast. He kept going on and on about the most normal things, like the forest and the rose garden. But, as odd as it was, it was also strangely pleasant talking with him like this. This most likely had something to do with the fact that she didn't have a pair of malice-filled blue eyes trying to drill holes to her at the moment.

"Ah, which reminds me, miss Elisabeth?" Looking up to the man from her thoughts the called woman hummed a questioning sound, only barely keeping her surprise inside of her. Märchen was practically shining with good mood, his smile, a real one, not one of those mysterious smirks he usually had, lightening up his face.

"I have been planning on going for a stroll to the garden today, and I was wondering if you would care to join me", he said playfully cocking his head to the side while leaning to his hands. "I have the impression that you are… how to put it… fond of wild roses?"

For a moment or two Elisabeth couldn't help but to simply stare at him, so great was the shock of his words. Then she blinked a couple of times to shake the shock off and smiled, saying: "I'd love to." _Even though Elise will probably kill me for it…_

And so the two (mainly Elisabeth) finished their breakfast and headed outside, conversing mostly about the roses, with few mentions about the castle it surrounded. For the first time in weeks, months, even years Elisabeth felt nearly like back in her childhood while adventuring in the forest with… At this point she sighed silently. Carefully closing the thought away she decided to just enjoy the feeling instead of remembering the cause for the familiarity of it. While focusing on this, she missed the look on her current companion's features.

Märchen was feeling a similar type of nostalgia as he watched Elisabeth bend down to take a closer look at a butterfly that had taken a rest place on one of the roses. The only difference was, than he had nothing in his memory to connect the feeling to. This troubled him. Ever since the woman in front of him had appeared in the same garden, he had had these moments when he had… remembered something, but in a way he hadn't. A feeling without a memory. The greatest oddity of it all was, that he had never before questioned the lack of memories he had, just assumed it all was nothing worth of remembering. All that mattered had been getting their, him and Elise's, revenge.

At this thought he stopped. Revenge… He knew he had to achieve some sort of revenge for what was done to him, but… if he couldn't even remember who had it been that had caused his… condition, how would he know when the revenge was fulfilled? And then… what would happen?

When he decided to leave this pondering for later and looked up again, he found himself looking into very worried pair of emerald green eyes.

"Are you okay, Herr Märchen?" Quickly leaving the loss of words behind he smiled brightly once more. There was no need to worry a lady, now was there?

"I'm just fine, I was just wondering, that's all", he said, and seeing the still questioning look on Elisabeth's face, he thought up a proper subject to lead them as far away from his original thoughts as possible, "The man we had as a… guest earlier, was your brother, right?" He barely kept himself from slapping himself as he saw Elisabeth's features get a slightly sad look on them. Wrong subject.

"Oh… yes" Elisabeth said not-so-cheerfully. There was a moment of nervous silence between them and Märchen wondered what exactly was the story behind these siblings. "Why do you ask?" Taking a slightly deeper breath Märchen decided to let his curiosity guide him.

"To us he told he would send his daughter in his stead, but instead he sent you, miss Elisabeth. I was wondering what was the reason for that." Not going into details of the visit of the king he patiently waited as Elisabeth closed her eyes for a moment to arrange her thoughts. As she opened them the seemed to have found some confidence as she wore a slight smile over her lips.

"I don't remember what happened to our parents. It was such a long time ago when they just… weren't there anymore." The two found a place to sit by one of the rose bushes, rather near the well in the middle of the garden. "My brother became the king after my father, so they tell me. I'd like to think that he felt responsible for me and thus became my "father". But I know that it's not true", she said with a distant look in her eyes. Märchen leaned his back to the bush behind him, gently, careful not to crush the flowers, as he intently listened the young woman's story, which continued, even though she had already given the answer.

"Frankly put, he hates me. But in order to keep his reputation he couldn't throw me out or anything. So instead he just focused on keeping me from having a life I could enjoy of." At this point Märchen interrupted her.

"Then… why didn't you just leave? I'd think anyone would had been more than happy to take in the daughter of a king", he said, and was surprised by the effect of his comment. She chuckled.

"You know, he asked the exact same thing", she said smilingly, and the fondness in her voice told Märchen that she wasn't talking about her brother anymore. His questioning look probably made her realize what she had just said, as her expression changed. The tall man tilted his head at the sorrowful, yet warm look Elisabeth got, and he asked the one worded question burning on the tip of his tongue.

"He?"

* * *

A/N: Hikari: Okay, here's the thing: I've been very, VERY busy lately with all these things like school/work-training-thingy we have for the next seven weeks (with seven work hours!) and I have this karaoke contest for which I had to go to another city faaaaaaaar away from any other computers, except this laptop I'm currently on. And this is borrowed. So yeaaaaaah...

Onto the rewiews!

**Syaoran's Sakura**: Thanks! I have it all planned out, so just you wait! ^^

**dawntodusk**: I see your point, but I'm thinking Elisabeth is more interested than anything about all this magic and all, as she didn't seem the least surprised about Märchen/März's coming to her in Haritsuke no Seijo (though it might had been that she knew it in her heart or something like that... whatever I'm too tired to think...)

And to both: glad you liked the Mär/Elisabeth thingies I put in the previous chapter, I hope you like this chappie's ones too~ ^^

Again, I really sorry for the delay, and believe me, I felt so guilty the entire time. And I even promised to update sooner! BUT! As an apology, the next chapter'll have a little treat in it! Look forward to it!


	7. The White Bird and the Moonlight

A/N: Hikari: I... I can't even say how sorry I am... I hope this page-longer chapter will make you happy enough not to kill me... Once again used **Defade's** translations~!

* * *

Chapter 6: The White Bird and the Moonlight

_One summer night, after the darkness had wrapped itself around a vast castle, and the last of the birds' sounds died out making way to the humming of the wind, a flicker of a flame moved by the said wind could be caught by observant eyes from somewhere in the castle._

_In the open window of the bottom floor a small, blonde girl looked up to the sky with her green eyes. The moon was full, and the warm night wind played among the leaves of the trees in the garden. She could even spot some small animal making its way towards the forest one could see on the edge of the castle grounds._

_Despite the calmness and beauty of the scene, the girl sighed sadly. It was a world she could only dream of being part of. She felt so alone… There was no one she could talk to about these dreams of hers truthfully, or anyone that cared at that. She turned her back to the window taking a few steps into the room. But what was she supposed to do about that? Sitting down to a chair she sighed again. What was she doing here anyway? It was way past her bedtime._

_She shook her head slightly. Isn't it obvious? She couldn't sleep. There were multiple reasons why she couldn't. First of all her brother was displeased at her again, and she couldn't figure out exactly why. And it bothered her. Secondly she was having nightmares. They were always, always the same, though all she ever remembered was the feeling they had: she felt cold and afraid, and it was as if the darkness around her seemed to want to devour her…_

_She shook her head again, this time more fiercely, trying to get rid of the memory of the nightmares. It was bad enough for them to haunt her when she was asleep, she didn't want that when she was awake also. For the third time she sighed._

"_Will you please stop sighing all the time!" The girl startled at the voice from the window. Blinking once, twice, three times she stood up._

"_W-Who's there?" It was barely an audible question, but it was the best she could manage at the moment. Apparently it was enough, as suddenly two small hands reached up to the windowsill, followed by a pair of arms and finally a silver haired head of a young boy. He had an amused smirk on his face._

"_Isn't it polite to introduce oneself before asking the other's name?" The sentence could have made her feel irritated, but the playful sound of his voice soothed her before that happened. Instead she smiled shyly._

"_You're the one who's intruding, aren't you?" she said, talking in much more audible voice than before. The boy seemed to think about this for a moment before he looked up to her again._

"_Point taken", he said and practically jumped on the windowsill. Then he attempted a mocking bow. "März von Ludowing, at your servi-AUGH!" A loud thump could be heard as the boy, März lost his balance and fell into the room. The girl gasped._

"_A-Are you okay?" Her voice trembled as she took a step towards him to see if he was hurt. März however just rubbed his head._

"…_lost my balance…", he muttered with an embarrassed blush rising up to his cheeks. The girl blinked again before a smile crept to her lips. She raised her hands over her mouth to keep in what was coming from inside her, but as she looked at the boy at her feet and remembering the comical fall, she couldn't help herself: she started laughing. It started as a giggle, then another and then she burst to an all out laughter. März tilted his head before also smiling and joining her in laughing._

_When they finally stopped after a while, the girl had sat down to the floor next to März. As they caught their breaths the boy looked at her._

"_Your turn", he said smilingly, and she knew he meant that it was her turn to introduce herself. With a deep breath she smiled and told him her name._

"_Elisabeth… Elisabeth von Wettin."_

/FBW\

Many long years after that night, on a beautiful day in the middle of a garden of wild roses, the girl, now turned to a woman, sighed in fondness of the memory she had just shared with the man next to her. Märchen looked thoughtfully at Elisabeth as he went through the story in his mind. What was the odd nostalgia he got from it? And that name… März von Ludowing, why did it sound so familiar? As if he had heard it many, many times before, but...

He turned his attention back to Elisabeth as she chuckled once more.

"He was the first friend I ever had", she said with that same warm-yet-sad smile she had on throughout her story. It made Märchen wonder. What had happened to this März? He decided not to ask, at least not yet, as Elisabeth continued her tale.

"He lived in the forest with his mother. I remember how we used to leave the castle at nights to play there…"

/FBW\

_As the stars filled the darkened sky to accompany the silvery moon, a pair of children made their way through an overgrown forest, the boy guiding the girl._

"_There…watch your steps", März said as he held Elisabeth's hand while leading her past a particularly tricky spot._

"_Yes!" She only smiled as she stepped over the root März had meant. Still the boy had a worried glint in his eyes._

"_Are you doing okay? Not scared?"_

_Elisabeth shook her head, both to say no and at his worry._

"_No. I'm really excited right now!" She let go of März's hand taking a few steps ahead, "Since the forest…the world is so huge!" She whirled around to smile widely at the boy. Of course she had known that there was much more to world than the castle, she had been to other towns once or twice, but seeing the forest, the trees, the grass, all the kinds of different plants and flowers… It was like a different world entirely!_

_März smiled at her enthusiasm as he took her hand once more._

"_Well, I'll bring you to a nice spot today", he said while guiding her deeper into the forest, "Let's go!"_

"_Yes!" And the two laughed as they continued on._

/FBW\

"_Look!"_

_The call echoed in the nightly forest as März approached his companion holding something in his hands, careful not to crush the thing. As he reached Elisabeth he opened his hands to show what he was holding._

"_Wow! What is it?" She asked in wonder as she took a look._

"_A beautiful flower." Beautiful indeed, it was a wild rose, cowered in dew which glittered in the moonlight as März gently held it up, so the girl could see it clearly. _

"_Wow, you're right." Elisabeth's eyes widened as she admired the simple beauty of the flower. She had seen nothing the like before, as the castle gardens grew only the most refined types of roses and other flowers. Growing something like the one her friend held would be outrageous._

_März held the flower higher and smiled playfully._

"_I'll put it in your hair", he said making the girl first blink in surprise, before smiling yet again. She couldn't even remember the time she had smiled as much before meeting März._

"_You would?" she asked, and as the other nodded, she leaned towards him, "Make it cute."_

_März chuckled at this before placing the frail flower in the girl's hair. "It fits you", he said smiling at the result, making Elisabeth blush slightly before laughing a bit._

"_I'm really happy." In reality, she didn't mean just the flower in her hair, but the fact that she was here, with März, her only friend, who could make her laugh, take her to adventures at nights and listen to her whenever she was down. She was, for the first time in her life, truly happy, all thanks to the silver haired boy in front of her. Not that she had the courage to say it out loud. But, maybe someday she could tell him…_

"_Let's go over there next time!" März snapped her out from her thoughts unknowing that they were about himself. As he grinned, Elisabeth nodded happily._

"_Yes!"_

_Maybe… someday…_

/FBW\

"Did that day ever come?"

Märchen's question made Elisabeth stare at him for a moment, making him think that he had probably said the wrong thing again. As she sighed again, he was pretty sure about it. So, it was no wonder, that when she suddenly smiled more warmly, he was a bit shocked. And he was sent even further in confusion when she answered.

"Kind of." As the woman looked at him, she seemed to realize his confusion, as she continued.

"I didn't get to say all that to him, but… I think my message came clear", she said and chuckled slightly at the look on Märchen's features, when he still didn't quite understand her meaning.

"Well, you see… März and his mother travelled to place to place, I never found out why. But eventually they had to leave that forest to the next one", she explained, "So we had to say good bye…"

Märchen looked at her in wonder. Was that the reason she was so sad? Because he had left? No, there was bound to be more. He listened more intently. He had to know the reason. Somehow he just had to.

"As we did, I gave him my doll as a keepsake of myself and made him promise to come back for me", she said and chuckled again, "Maybe it was a bit selfish of me. But, as always, he smiled at me, and promised…"

Elisabeth decided not to tell the man about the kiss. It would had felt slightly awkward to tell him about it, so she kept that bit to herself. Other than that, she noticed that it felt so… easy to tell Märchen all this. It was like he was supposed to know this. Like he was supposed to understand it all. As she came to think of this, she stopped. Why was that? She had no explanation for it.

Märchen was having similar thoughts, but they fell on the back of his head as the mystery of this März boy gave no room for them. So he had promised to come back for her. So what had happened?

"So… did he?" he asked. As Elisabeth looked at him questioningly, he continued, "Come back I mean."

The sorrow that filled her eyes made him want to kick himself once more. Why couldn't he stop asking questions that made the woman sad? What kind of gentleman was he? Nonetheless she answered.

"No, he didn't", she said and as she noticed that the man beside her seemed irritated by this, she quickly continued, "It's not what you think! I'm sure he would have come back if…"

Märchen frowned as she trailed off. Elisabeth took a deeper breath at this point, as if she was going to admit something she had denied for years. A horrible realization came to Märchen. Could it possibly be that this März was..?

"…I-if… he had…" Suddenly a tear rolled down her cheek. "If he… had not… d-died."

Now Märchen didn't feel like kicking himself. He felt like jumping into the well some ways behind them, and never come out. How could he be so insensitive? No wonder she was so sorrowful. And for all he could tell, März hadn't only been her friend, no, she had loved the boy! And yet… and yet he came to think, how the boy had died? Luckily, or unluckily, however one would see it, he didn't need to ask. For suddenly they both came to realize that the day had already turned to evening. But this realization didn't come because of the red tint in the sky, nor the sudden cold wind making its way through the garden.

No, the reason for this was the eerie feeling of a petite figure coming from the castle doors, and the colder-than-ice stare of evenly icy blue eyes on their backs.

* * *

A/N: Hikari: I know, I know... I should be crucified for not updating for TWO FREAKING MONTHS! And now I left a cliffie! I'm a truly horrible author... I'm just glad I'm not His Highness! He has so many more fans than me (if I even can call you guys fans XD). But, enough blabbling and onto the reviews!

**dawntodusk**: I AM a psychic! Mwahahaa! For an example I can hear all the murderous thoughts my readers have of me~ *cough* Anyway, I know some of the phrases I write sound odd, even I have sometimes trouble understanding what I write ^^' But they make me seem professional, don't they? ...Yea... I should probably sleep more so I'd stop blabbling random things...

**Syaoran's Sakura**: ... -sama? That's... That's the first time anyone has called me with that in the end... I'm feeling quiltier by the second!

**BraveNina**: Ah, everyone's saying they love my stovy... I'm not worthy! And I don't mind your English, I understand you just fine ^^

And to everyone: You all mentioned Elise's absence, so I'm guessing you all were waiting for this dearly. Hope you all like this almost-Eliseless-chapter too~!

Now that I've finished my work, and the next con is coming in a few months (and I already have the costume for it), I should be able to update more often, but don't take it as a promise! I'm too unreliable to be trusted to update on time! But I can promise to try.

Again, sorry for the awful delay! Expect the next chapter earlier that that, and also, those who have been waiting for update for my other story, I finally know how to continue, so expect update there too!

Over and out!


	8. Schauspielerinnen

A/N: Hikari: Thank you for **dawntodusk** (Schauspielerinnen) for being the beta reader for this chapter~! Luv you forever for it! Enjoy~!

* * *

Chapter 7: Schauspielerinnen

Elise was fuming. How dared she? That woman, how **dared** she even think about spending time with **her** Mär without her around? That scene Elise walked upon… She couldn't forgive that woman. She wouldn't. Suddenly the doll smiled wickedly. No, she wouldn't forgive her. Oh, no, not when she could get a revenge on her. And revenges were what she did best.

"Ahahaha~!"

Yes, her revenge, her very own revenge. That she would get, even if it was the last thing she did! But wait. She stopped in her tracks on the hallway she had been walking on. She couldn't do it here, not in this castle. Mär, poor, deceived Mär would stop her, and she couldn't go against him. No, not here. Somewhere else. Somewhere… Suddenly she knew exactly what to do. As the evil smile returned, she prepared to go pay a little visit on a certain man wearing a crown…

/FBW\

As the sun set beyond the horizon, Märchen sat in the garden, alone. What a mess this had become. What had he been thinking anyway? He knew Elise, he had for as long as he could remember, ever since he opened his eyes on that day. He knew she would act like this. Sighing he leaned his head to his knees, trying to ease the headache that was forming.

But… Even though he couldn't recall it, he was certain he had met Elisabeth before. Some time, long ago. When he was still… He shook his head, and started coming up with a solution to all this. There had to be one, one without him having to use the baton in front of Elisabeth. Without having to conduct another tragedy…

Blinking in disbelief he rethought those thoughts once more. Without having to..? Could it be possible? There was a choice, wasn't there? But what was it? He thought about it, but ended up going in circles, pondering same things over and over again, his thoughts revolving, round and round…

/FBW\

Elisabeth laid on her bed, staring at the roof, trying to figure out what exactly had happened just now. First she had been sitting in the garden, with Märchen, talking about her past. It had been so peaceful, but it had turned out to be the calm before the storm hit, for the moment Elise found them together, a hell broke loose. The girl had shouted and screamed at her, about how she was "misleading" Märchen, trying to… seduce him.

With a deep sigh Elisabeth sat up. That was when things had gotten eerie. Suddenly she had been feeling incredibly cold, cold and, in a way, slipping away. Like falling into darkness, much like in the dreams she had. Just when she thought it was all over, a warmth of some kind separated her from the coldness, and before she realized it, she was standing in the middle of her room.

Truly odd. Remembering the freezing darkness creeping over her skin made her shudder. If now her dreams started to become reality, she had no idea what to think. Of course, she was scared. Terrified even. But that's all she knew for sure.

No, this wouldn't do. Standing up she took a deep breath. maybe walking around would clear her thoughts. And just the moment she thought this, the door of her room opened. Stopping she stared at it. It hadn't done that before. Bracing herself she walked to the door. She had been going to go on a walk anyway, so… it was fine, right?

Stepping out to the hallway Elisabeth looked around, pondering where she should go. Could she dare walk in the garden? There was no other place she knew she could go to. She just hoped that Elise wasn't there anymore. So deciding she knocked on the wall, like she was already used to, and feeling the usual click in the air she took the seven steps expecting to end up in front of the stairs, like usually. Imagine her surprise when she opened her eyes and found herself in front of a door, very similar to the one of her room, but this one was painted black and red, and she could see feather patterns on it in the dim light of the hallway.

Quizzically she stared at the door, not understanding why she had ended up there. Then she sighed again, and was about to turn around to try again, when she felt… a nudge of some kind. At the back of her mind she felt the desire to open the door, to see what was hidden behind it. Shaking her head she tried to convince herself that it was a bad idea. Curiosity killed the cat, didn't it? But…

She looked at the door once more. Half red and half black coloring attracted her in a way she couldn't understand. Black feathers on red, and red on black. Slowly she raised her hand, and carefully, as if fearing it would burn her, she took a hold of the handle and turned…

/FBW\

Märchen's head shot up at the sudden surge of energy running through him. He looked around wildly, trying to find the source of it, before standing up, instinctively turning around to face the well behind him. What in the world..?

Shifting his look from the well to the castle, a bad feeling suddenly came over him. Something was wrong, so very wrong. With that he started walking towards the large building, once or twice glancing at the well…

/FBW\

The room was dimly lit with only six candles illuminating it. As Elisabeth's eyes got used to the darkness, she noticed that the candles were situated in front of six paintings. Walking to the closest one she examined it. The picture was divided in three parts, far left one showing a woman, apparently a nun, in a forest talking to animals. She was smiling and clearly was having fun, though Elisabeth could find a glint of sadness on her face.

Elisabeth moved her eyes to the second part of the canvas feeling a shiver run down her spine. It showed the same woman, now dead with an axe sticking out from her chest. As the candle flame flickered she caught a glimpse of what seemed like an old woman on the edge of the section. She wondered if the old woman had killed the nun. The last section showed two children with an old woman, who could be recognized as the same one as on the last part. The children were eating sweets, and the scene seemed overall happy, but Elisabeth had a bad feeling about it. What happened after that? She guessed, and hoped, that she would never find out.

As she turned to see the other paintings, she saw that they were also divided in three segments. The second painting showed a girl, apparently a waitress working under the eyes of a land… lady? Probably, though the person, even if wearing a dress, seemed more male than female. The waitress ended up hanged in the second part. The last part showed simply a door with an eerie feeling. Controlling her imagination she moved onto the next canvas.

The third painting was about a girl with almost white skin, black hair and blood red lips. She was first wandering in a forest, apparently finding a small cottage, then she was sleeping in a box made of glass. _No, wait_, Elisabeth thought. It wasn't a box, it was a coffin. But that would mean that the girl was dead, right? That didn't make sense, however, as in the last segment she was seen alive and well with a young nobleman, most likely a prince, by her side.

Elisabeth turned to see the last three works of art on the opposite wall, unable to stop after the horrors of the first ones. Perhaps she was hoping to find at least one picture where the main character didn't, well, die. At least one picture with a happy ending. Though she did doubt she would find one.

The fourth painting was again of a young girl, dressed in green with blond hair, working outside of a small house, where she could see an older woman with a small girl. As her eyes drifted to the second part, she felt her heart ache. The girl dressed in green had fallen into a well. Taking a deep breath she moved onto the last part, where the girl was oddly alive again, covered in what seemed to be gold, approaching the house from before.

Sighing she turned to the next, the fifth painting to see a blonde young woman, dressed in light red clothes, walking in the halls of a castle. Then she, resembling the girl in the third painting, was sleeping (or dead, she reminded herself) in the middle of roses. Seeing the last segment she had to glance at the third painting again before returning to the fifth, where the young woman was accompanied by… yes it had to be… the same prince! Though this time he was wearing red clothes, while previously they had been blue. _How confusing…_

On the last canvas she could see a woman with long dark hair and a white dress, along with a man, taller and older with a blue beard. _Wait a minute, blue beard?_ Yes, definitely a blue beard. Shrugging it off she looked to the next part to see the woman hanging from a chain attached to her wrists. Her previously white dress was now dyed red with what couldn't be anything else but blood. Behind her Elisabeth saw five more corpses of women, who apparently had suffered the same destiny as the dark haired woman. She felt a chill at this. The man in the first segment had to be behind it. At the very last segment was a new woman, younger this time, holding a golden key and approaching a door.

Elisabeth took a step back, feeling uneasy. What were these paintings? Who had painted them? And… why? All this… hadn't really happened, right? She wanted to get out. She was about to go back where she had came from, but then, suddenly, her eyes caught something white on the edge of her vision. As much as she wanted to leave, her curiosity was even greater than her uneasiness. So, she turned to see the back of the room, where she could see one more canvas, it's back facing her. Walking towards it, she rounded it to see the painting. Clearly it was unfinished, as the segments two and three were still completely white. But as she saw the first segment she felt her breath getting caught in her throat. What she was looking at was a picture of a girl, sitting beside an open window. One could see a night sky filled with stars outside, but all Elisabeth saw was the girl herself. The girl was wearing a white dress, had long blonde hair tied up in a hairdo and green eyes gazing dreamily at the sky. No matter how she looked, she couldn't see anyone else than herself in the picture.

Now she took two, three steps back in shock. It didn't take long for her to add up the signs. The one who had painted these pictures… All those things that happened to those girls… Was she about to become the same? Was she going to… die?

"No… no, no, no…", she muttered. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening! Not now, not…

"No!" And with that she ran out from the room, leaving the horrifying works of art behind her.

There were only two people besides her residing in this castle, so one of them had to be the author of those paintings. But why? Why would either of them paint such grotesque pictures? True, Elise probably hated her enough to want to kill her, but she didn't seem like the type that would make keepsakes of people she… m-murdered. Neither did Märchen. Though…

As she made her way through the hallway, she realized that in the end, she knew nothing about the two. She didn't know where they left at times, nor what they had done before her coming into the castle. Märchen could be a blood-thirsty murderer!

Now she finally understood why her brother had been so horrified when he returned home from the castle. Perhaps he had witnessed something the two had done.

At some point she stopped running. It was no use running in this castle, as she would probably never get out like that. And that was exactly what she wanted at the moment. To get out. Away from the castle, the gardens, the eerie well on the grounds and, most importantly, away from Märchen and Elise.

Unfortunately she wasn't so lucky at the last point. As she did the steps to get to the stairs, this time succeeding as planned, and ran them down, she bumped into none other than the man she had just realized to possibly be a murderer.

"Miss Elisabeth..? Is something the matter?" Märchen sounded concerned, but Elisabeth missed it as she was busy getting frightened and running past him into the dusk.

/FBW\

The man blinked in surprise, before calling after her.

"Miss Elisabeth!" The woman, however, couldn't hear him. He was about to run after her when he felt a small hand grab his larger one. He turned to see the doll dressed in red and black, like always.

"Let her go", Elise said while staring into his golden eyes with her blue ones. "She does not wish to stay here with us, so why prevent her from leaving?"

Anxious, Märchen turned once more to see the running woman who had reached one of the gates. True, he had no reason to stop her, had he? But what was the odd aching in his chest as he saw her exit the grounds without looking back.

As Elisabeth vanished from his sight, his posture slumped. So… in the end… she did hate him, didn't she? Was it any wonder? Had he done anything to make her think otherwise? Elise tugged his hand gently.

"Let's go inside, Mär", she said and, as Märchen had no will to decline, pulled the man inside the castle that had just lost one of its residents…

* * *

A/N: Hikari: The seventh chapter and everything falls apart~ I'm feeling like heika more and more by the chapter... Anyway, to reviews~!

**dawntodusk**: Ah, is this a confession? Just kidding~ I'm glad you liked the flashbacks, I spent a lot of time thinking them through, especially the first meeting. And two times thanks~! First for the "good luck"-part, I'm doing my best~! (Gambatteiru yo~!) The second for this chapter, I really can't thank you enough!

**pika318**:*nod nod* I'm kind of trying to make Märchen more... human, I guess. Glad you liked~! And, as you may notice, yes, Elise is very mad~!

**Silver Flare of Spirit**: Thank you, thank you. And don't you worry, I'm nowhere near quitting with this story~! ^^

Okay, this is officially the longest story I've ever written. And I've written it for half a year already~! Wow... I had no idea I had it in me to write such a story...

But, off I go~! Bye~!


	9. A Sky Cut Off at Corners

A/N: Hikari: Once again beta-read by **dawntodusk**~! I'm really starting to owe you for this... but here we have the newest chapter! Enjoy~!

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Chapter 8: A Sky Cut Off at Corners

Silence. The utter and complete silence that wrapped itself around the familiar room filled the air so wholly, that when the woman sitting in that room moved even just slightly, the rustling noise her dress made echoed like a shout from the walls, bouncing up and down, left and right. But, for once, the woman was glad for the silence, as the thoughts that filled her head were quite enough of noise for her.

As she looked up at the window, she sighed at the barred sight of it. How long had she sat there, beside the bed, and how many times had she sighed at noticing how completely trapped she was in that room? Too long, too many times.

How had Elisabeth ended up locked up in a room in her own home? Quite simple actually, and most probable too. When she had ran out from the castle…

/FBW\

_Elisabeth didn't stop until she tripped on a root on the forest path she had taken as her route. On that spot she laid for who knows how long, just thinking about the last few minutes. Yes, few __**minutes**__, even though, considering the amount of doubt and horror, the events had made it seem like hours. She couldn't believe it, or so she thought, as apparently she did believe it, when you realize that she had ran out. In horror._

_Slowly she sat up on the rough ground, simply focusing on breathing in and out. She had to calm down._

_Once she did, she looked around at the forest around her. Just ahead, between the trees she could see a road in the fading light of the evening. Remembering back a week ago when she had arrived to the castle she knew that the road would take her back home._

"_Home…" She looked back the path towards the castle that was hidden behind the trees. For the last few days she had started to think of the castle as her home, as she had been sure that she wouldn't, and didn't want to, go back to her brother. But now… now she couldn't return there. Not after seeing that room, those paintings, __**that**__ painting. Knowing this, why did she feel a horrible tearing in her heart as she looked back and forth between the road and the way back to the castle._

_Not able to bear the tearing she faced at the ground squeezing her eyes shut as tears started to run down her cheeks. Why did this have to happen? Why did the "monster" her brother had been talking about have to be Märchen? After the past week, after the past day, why did it have to be him? Just when she…_

_Shaking her head to clear her mind she stood up. She couldn't go back to the castle, not now. For all she knew, Märchen could kill her when he found out she had been in that room. That she couldn't accept, because despite all, she had again found the will to live. Ironically because of the man who supposedly took lives away._

_And so, as hard as it was, she stated walking towards the "home" she had grew up in._

/FBW\

She reached her destination only after dusk had fallen upon the land, and to her utter surprise she found that her brother had been waiting for her. He had looked like he had not slept nor eaten for weeks, even though it had been just one since she left, and had constantly looked around him like something was going to attack him at any given moment. The moment Elisabeth stepped inside the gates to the castle grounds, he ordered her to be taken to "the room prepared for her". It had turned out to be the room on the bottom floor she had been when she had met März for the first time, only now the window had been barred and after she stepped in the door was locked after her.

From that moment she had been sitting on the same spot beside the bed, just sitting, doing nothing else. Her tears had long dried into light lines on her cheeks, and her sobs had died down. She hadn't even bothered to put on some light, so it was dark, the only light being the moonlight coming from the window. And even that was faint, as a thin layer of clouds covered the moon, keeping it from casting its light.

Now she was even more trapped than ever. Never before had she been so restrained, not before this. Even back when she had been a child she had been allowed to take walks around the castle and the gardens. And now that she had gotten accustomed in having someone she could even dare to call a friend… It only made things seem worse.

Spending hours in the darkness of that room had given her time to think things through once more. Eventually she had realized that there was a possibility that she was wrong about Märchen. It could be that the paintings were created by someone else, if not Elise, then perhaps the castle itself.

The castle had seemed to have its own life at times, there was no arguing about that. And truly, Märchen wasn't the type who would do something like that. Not him.

As she had realized this, she had gotten an immediate urge to apologize to the man, before realizing the impossibility of actually doing that. Firstly she was trapped, which automatically made it so that she would not get to the man, and secondly, even if she got out and all the way back to the castle, she wouldn't had known what to say to him. As such she had become even more depressed than she already was.

So there she still sat, having wrapped her arms around her knees, being constantly reminded of her own powerlessness…

/FBW\

"Light" was something Märchen knew he would never have. For whenever he thought he had found it, it turned out to be something completely different. He didn't know what "light" was. Of course he knew of sunlight, and the flickering light of a candle, but… something somewhere within him knew that that was not it. Not the "light" he wanted to find.

And now, once again, he had lost something that could had been his "light", and, again, noticed it too late. She was gone, and would not come back. As he had come to realize this, he was overcome with deep sadness, one he had never felt like. And still he had the feeling he had.

Frustrated he hit the wall he had spent the last hour staring at. Why couldn't he remember? Why couldn't he understand any of what was happening around him? Elisabeth… Why had she left? Letting his now sore hand slide down the wall and fall to his side, Märchen stared at the said wall once again. Why..?

"**Why indeed?"** The voice echoing in the room was deep, dark, and most of all dangerous. Despite this Märchen didn't flinch at the sudden question. As he felt the cooling darkness covering his chaotic mind, he closed his eyes acknowledging its presence. **"But one must ask, why do you care? After all this time?"**

"Ido… Do you know the answer?" His silent voice sounded almost innocent, like a child asking a question from a parent. This was not too far from the truth either.

"**I may… but you have no need to know"**, the voice said in a strict, yet calm tone. This answer didn't satisfy the man the least however, as he clutched his hands to fists. He couldn't defy this darkness, he knew that. Ido had the power over him, as long as he was the conductor of tragedies. But that didn't mean he could be kept in dark about things about himself.

"Why? Why do you not tell me anything?" Märchen turned around, facing the darkness fully instead of the wall. "Every time I ask you tell me I have no need to know. Is it not my memory? How am I supposed to get revenge when I do not know who to avenge to?" As the voice kept silent, his eyes narrowed and he continued. "How will I know whether I have anything to get revenge about in the first place? You could have deceived me! You-!" He was suddenly cut off by a freezing, pressing feeling in his mind.

"**Have you forgotten, Märchen von Friedhof?"** The man gasped as the feeling concentrated and he held his head. **"After all this time, have you forgotten, that the only way a revenge can be acted out, the only way I take hold of humans is through three things. If you have not forgotten about that…"** Märchen fell to his knees, the voice thundering around him. **"…tell me what they are!"**

As the feeling gave in only ever so slightly the conductor gasped for breath.

"Hatred… death and… impulses…", he said quietly. Apparently satisfied, Ido let him go. Sighing in relief he let his breath even out while the darkness continued.

"**Yes, that's right. Hatred for those who have done you wrong, leading you to your death, and the impulses that tell you to avenge"**, it said slowly, like talking to a mere child, before chuckling evilly. **"In that aspect you are no different from those you have helped over the years." **Märchen fell silent while thinking about made sense, it always had, but why did he have the nagging feeling at the back of his head that there was something wrong about it?

"**The only difference between you and them is, that I chose you to hold the baton, made you the conductor of revenge tragedies"**, with this conclusion Ido waited for the man's answer. It didn't have to wait for long as soon he looked up again.

"Why me? If I am not so different from anyone else, why did you choose me?" This question earned another chuckle from the darkness.

"**You were special. That is all there is to it."** It wasn't all there was to it, Märchen knew it wasn't. There was something more, something Ido wouldn't tell him. But what was it? This was too suspicious. And as he thought this, he didn't notice the darkness intensifying around him.

Nothing made sense anymore, not like it used to. Before he had just blindly trusted what Ido said, obeying and thinking that it was right and justified for he and Elise to do what they did. Before he would accept any excuse of an explanation from the darkness and forget the matter for a period of time again. But now… Now everything Ido said raised more and more questions. Questions he wouldn't get an answer for.

"**You still doubt me?"** The almost irritated tone snapped Märchen out from his thoughts. Glancing around him he finally noticed the intensity, and the creeping coldness that was slowly covering him throughout. That moment he decided. This time, this time he would get some answers. This time-.

Suddenly his world turned into a deep, dark oblivion…

/FBW\

Clenching her small hands into fists, Elise followed this exchange with wide eyes. She hadn't known Märchen had become this doubtful towards their revenge. This wouldn't do, not in any way! She had to snap him out from it, that blockhead. Why couldn't he see why they should continue, why it was so important? If they didn't…

Shaking the thought out from her little head she turned her attention back to the room, just in time to see the man collapse, causing her to let out a small squeal. However, she only had the time to think about rushing to his side when he suddenly stood up again. Sighing in relief Elise noticed that Ido had already left, so she stepped into the room. As she was about to make her arrival noted, Märchen spoke, stopping her in her tracks.

"He should have just believed me." Elise's eyes widened once more, as this wasn't the voice of her beloved. No, this voice was the voice of the one who she had thought to have left the room already. "No matter, I will just have to conduct the final tragedy myself." And before Elise had the chance to step out from the room again, the possessed man turned around and faced her with lifeless golden eyes.

"A-Ah! I was just… I mean I tried to…" She trailed off as the man smiled coolly. This was not good, this was **not** good!

"Why, greetings Elise. A pleasure, as always", he said as he twirled the baton in his fingers. "You must have already figured out the situation, hm?" As Elise nodded carefully he chuckled lightly, his eyes gaining a malevolent glow…

/FBW\

A chill ran up Elisabeth's spine, telling her that she had spent too much time sitting on the cold stone floor. Sighing she stood up, noting that horizon had already gained some lighter color, marking an hour or so before the sun would rise. She hadn't slept at all during the night, her thoughts and regret wouldn't let her.

As she thought of whether she should attempt to sleep or not, she suddenly felt a slight gust of wind coming from behind her. Turning around, she realized that she was no longer alone in the room. The one who had appeared in one dark corner of the room wasn't exactly the first person she had assumed to enter the room, though when one took into account that she hadn't assumed anyone could enter, she wasn't all that surprised. In fact, now that she thought about it, it was actually most probable that Elise would appear, perhaps for the fact that Märchen wasn't there to stop her from making an all-out attack on Elisabeth.

What surprised her, however, was the fact that the girl appeared to be filled with utter terror, gasping for breath and eyes wide like plates. As Elise looked at her, the blue eyes showed the same kind of distaste towards her as usual, but this time there was something more, as if they were… begging her for something? Why was that? Elisabeth didn't have to wait for long for the answer, as the girl straightened her petite figure and faced her eye to eye.

"Let me get this straight to you. I hate you", she said, making Elisabeth struggle at trying not to smile at this. It was quite obvious. "I hate you from the bottom of my heart, but I have no choice. You happen to be the only one I can ask for…help…at the moment." She almost whispered the word "help", making it seem like the most horrible word in existence. Which it probably was at the moment. Keeping these thoughts to herself, Elisabeth waited for the other to continue. Which she did, after a moment of apparently arranging her thoughts.

"At first I was going to make the rest of your life as horrible as possible, as simply killing you would be too easy", she continued, talking about killing her like it was something that happened every day, thus affirming Elisabeth's earlier thought, "that way assuring that I could spend the rest of eternity together with Mär, like we have so far. But… You changed him." It was like the girl's eyes had lit up in flames, and Elisabeth could easily see that she was seriously considering about going with the killing plan after all. She didn't, however, and as she opened her mouth once more, it was clear that she was getting to the point of her arrival.

"And because of that Mär is in danger." This last statement echoed throughout the room and inside Elisabeth's head over and over again. What? Märchen was..?

"What… What do you mean he is in danger?"

* * *

A/N: Hikari: Did I just team Elisabeth and Elise up? I think I did. Wow. I hope I got Ido right, all dark and so on...

Anyway, reviews!

**dawntodusk**: No! You cannot be thanked enough! That is a pure truth, so deal with it! *cough* But, I'm glad you liked the paintings~ I thought it would be odd adding to the castle, but decided to just go with it in the end~ Oh, and before I forget: *hands over a box of tissues* If I get this thing right, you'll be in tears before long~ But that's a good thing, okay? Good, not bad!

**pika318**: Yes, he is quite brokenhearted, isn't he... I hate doing this to him ;_;

**WitchJuliana**: Ahaha~ Thank you, thank you. I'm updating, as you see, slowly, but surely~

By the way, has any of you ever cosplayed at school? I have, at least half-cosplayed, for the last two weeks, first as Märchen, and currently as Hiver Laurant. Why? 'Cause it's fun~! ^^

Over and out!


	10. The Corpseductor

A/N: Hikari: *Sigh* Took my sweet time again... Anyhow, saving my blabbling to the end. Enjoy~!

Betaed by **dawntodusk** (aka **Schauspielerinnen**)

* * *

Chapter 9: The Corpseductor

Just less than an hour before sunrise, a wind crossed a forest, shaking the branches violently. Following that wind you could spot two figures making their way through that forest, as fast as they possibly could. Or, well, that wasn't entirely true. The smaller one of the two distractingly similar-looking females could have reached their destination long ago, but as she had to get the other one there as well, she couldn't do that.

Not that the other noticed, or even thought about this, and setting her sight forwards, where she knew sooner or later a castle would appear in front of them, she walked up the narrow forest path. She just hoped they wouldn't be too late.

/FBW\

"_Tell me, why is Herr Märchen in danger?" Elisabeth's voice trembled ever so slightly as she questioned the girl before her. What had happened? What did she mean by her "changing" him? Was she… was she responsible of bringing danger upon the man? Elise hesitated for a short moment before opening her mouth again._

"_I won't tell you much, since most of it is none of your business", she said coldly, before looking away for a moment. When she then spoke, Elisabeth could swear her voice cracked slightly. Not that she would ever mention it._

"_Mär... Before you came, he wouldn't question anything", Elise started, slightly hesitant, "We were happy like that, doing what we did without doubt. But now... Now it isn't enough for him! He had to know the reason, he had to go and ask! And now... Now he's..."_

_As Elisabeth saw the girl's hands clench into small fists, while clearly trying to hold herself together, she knew it was serious. Even though she still didn't know what exactly was the danger, if there was a way for her to help, she would do it._

/FBW\

Thus the pair had left the castle, though she was still unsure how they had done it. When she had affirmed that she would help, Elise had suddenly took her hand, and a second later they had been standing outside the castle gate. For a short moment she had marveled at this curious, and fast, way of traveling, before following the girl, who had already walked ahead, going with amazing speed despite her petite figure, while grumbling about something about "not being able to move as far with someone like her".

As the two came to the castle, Elisabeth froze in horror. The garden, earlier filled with the wild roses she had loved so much, was now barren and dried up, with not even a single rose remaining alive. The castle itself was slowly crumbling into pieces, and even the sky above their heads seemed to darken beyond recognition. What was going on?

"Over there…" The less-than-a-whisper call of Elise brought her attention to the center of the once-garden. There, just beside the well, she saw a familiar figure standing with his back turned to them. Her determination withered away as she saw him, but nevertheless she approached the man, followed by the doll-like girl. With every step she felt worse and worse. This wasn't right. Something was off about the man.

"Herr… Märchen..?" At the call of his name, Märchen slowly turned around, his dusk-tainted hair waving in a wind she couldn't feel. His eyes glowed with eerie gold, but they were empty, with no recognition or feeling for the woman in front of him. Instead he looked at the girl beside her.

"Elise… So you came back", he said with a voice that wasn't his own. Elisabeth could hardly believe anything even remotely human could sound like that. She could hear Märchen's own voice on the background, but the tone dominating was like that of thunder. No, not thunder. Thunder would not sound so… scary, so beyond this world and the next, so full of malice.

The girl in question stared at her beloved Märchen with wide eyes as she slowly, unwillingly nodded. Something of a smirk appeared on the man's features, and as Elisabeth watched, frightened, disbelieving what she saw, he raised his baton, slowly, almost gently, and flicked it.

Suddenly they found themselves in a realm of pure darkness, one too familiar for Elisabeth. Yes, this place was… the same one. The one from her dreams. The one she feared the most in this world. As Märchen, or whoever this was, because she could not believe this to be the same boyish and cocky, yet gentle and kind man she knew, opened his lips once more, he kept the baton held up, as if ready for something.

"I've been looking for you, my dear", he said, caressing every word as he did, "for I have the feeling that you were in need of… a revenge, am I not right?" The way the man said "revenge" made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Even though she didn't know the meaning behind this, the feeling that word gave out was terrifying. And as she glanced at the girl the man was talking to, she saw that Elise was at least as terrified as she was, probably even more so, as when she opened her mouth her voice was nothing but a stuttering whisper.

"R-Revenge? T-That may be t-true but that doesn't mean… I-I can wait", she said wide-eyed with fear. Her answer made "Märchen" chuckle darkly.

"Oh, but you do not have to. Nor am I willing to", with that he swung the baton towards Elisabeth.

"Especially when the source of your _rage_ is right here with us." As the words echoed throughout the darkness, the woman in question took a step back. Revenge... Rage..? What was the man talking about? Of course she knew Elise hated her, the girl had told her so herself for God's sake! But the way "Märchen" said it made it feel much, much worse than that. Did she really hate her that much?

/FBW\

No, she didn't. Or, yes, she did, but currently that woman (for Elise would never call her by her name) played an important part in getting Mär back. Her Mär. Elise's Mär. The man standing before them, wearing that malicious expression that disturbed his handsome face, he was not her Mär. _That_ was not Mär. It was hard for her to keep telling herself that, especially when those familiar features were right in front of her eyes.

But she had to stay strong, for his sake. Even if she had thought that seeing that woman and hearing her voice would have been enough to snap him out from it. Even if he was about to hurt that same woman. Even if he was about to conduct Elise's revenge tragedy, like all those people before her. The seventh tragedy. What was it with sevens anyway? Ido had always been keen on finding sevens, like the seven dwarves that found that what-was-her-name princess sleeping in their cottage, and then there was that seven sins thing that was always around. Yes, she had noticed it over time, like the sevens appearing in the castle (true, even an idiot could notice it over time).

Maybe there was something to it though. Sins were something that came from impulses, and Ido _was_ the source of impulses as far as she knew. Suddenly she had the feeling that the seven sins were the key. But to what? What did that key unlock? For some reason she didn't wish to know.

Realizing that her thoughts had been wandering, Elise stared at the scene before her. What could she do about it? She had no power she could use to stop the tragedy from unfolding. All her power came from Ido, and she would not be allowed to use it against its source. But what other way was there? Without that power she was just a doll containing the soul of a vengeance-yearning woman. All she really had were her memories…

/FBW\

"Now then, why won't we begin…" Suddenly the man trailed off while he took in Elisabeth's face. An eerie spark of recognition could be caught in his eyes and he tilted his head in a similar manner to the real owner of the body. This motion however didn't contain the boyish playfulness Elisabeth had grown accustomed to, being replaced with calculative thoughtfulness with the likeness to a serial killer. Then the previous malicious knowledge returned to his stolen features. He was in complete control of the situation, that she was sure of.

"What a pleasant surprise", he said in a mocking tone, his voice thundering around them, "We have already met, haven't we?" This comment made Elisabeth confused. The man obviously didn't mean her along with _Märchen_, but the one possessing him. And while the swirling darkness around them and the coldness creeping over her skin was more than familiar, the _being_ itself she couldn't recognize from anywhere before.

As she stayed quiet, he continued.

"Ah, I see you do not remember me. Quite understandable", the man said twirling the baton in his fingers, "It has been so many years since we last met after all. I myself almost couldn't recognize you myself, had it not been the tiny bit of my power left within you." A tiny bit of..? Elisabeth couldn't believe what she was hearing. How on earth could a bit of that _thing's_ power be inside of her? A dark chuckle made her wonder whether he could read her thoughts.

"Oh, I remember it like it was yesterday now. You were nothing but a baby, dead already, not breathing anymore as I recall. Had it not been for that woman's contract with me, you would have stayed that way too", he mused while looking at the woman with what seemed like utmost fascination. Then he sighed almost theatrically, bringing his hand over his face, fingertips touching his forehead, to add to the effect.

"It is almost a pity that you have to be the target of this final tragedy." And with that he raised the baton once again, the malevolent smirk reappearing on his features. "Almost."

But then, just as he was about to bring down the baton like the conductor he was, a trembling yet strong voice from her side shouted a name Elisabeth knew all too well.

"März von Ludowing!"

* * *

A/N: Hikari: Okay, 1½ months is a lot, I know, but the network's been dead for quite a while and it was just fixed today. I HAVE AN EXCUSE! *cough*

I'm honoured, 5 reviews for the last chapter! that's the most so far~! And while I was looking at some stats, I see that this story is on alert for 9 people and favorited by 5. Is this really that good? Wow. But, to response to the reviews!

**Silver Flare of Spirit**: I hope you found something to cluch onto, especially since I left another cliffie here~Great, I got it right! *happydance*

**pika318**: It just kinda came out that way. Suddenly it just made all the sense in the world that Ido would take over ^^" (Oh, a newbie cosplayer? Hope you love it as much as I do ^^)

**dawntodusk**: Now, before responding, THANK YOU AGAIN! You're my saviour by keeping on betaing! Yup, stirring up action, continuing it here~ And Elise, I've come to think of her more protective (and possessive) over Märchen than completely evil-living-doll-of-revenge (though yes, she is that too). So, I thought it would fit the picture if she did that ^^

**WitchJuliana**: Humm... I agree, you can't kill him, since... well, I don't think you can kill a force that lives deep within every single human mind. Though I sincerely wish you could XD

**The Song Of Lost Age**: Hey, glad you're liking it! I myself loved the Beauty and the Beast setting, so...

Okay, about the chapter itself: I'm loving and hating it around the same amount at the moment. I had so much trouble in writing it, since I was busy hating myself for doing this to Märchen. But on the other hand I loved writing Ido's reactions. And then I hated myself for loving it. And when I think about what's coming next, I'm getting depressed.

Yes, I know what's coming up, I have the whole plot from now on clearly in my mind. There are two more chapters left, and if I figure something out, or if I'm flooded with requests, an epilogue. So, the prologue, 11 chapters and an epilogue, that adds up as... 13. Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?

Well, anyhow, 'till the next chapter~!


	11. A True Witch That Curses the World

A/N: Hikari: This one... Is not beta read. Sorry for the mistakes! And once more using **Defade**'s translations.

* * *

Chapter 10: A True Witch That Curses the World

"…_If only she were alive! If only...!" The desperate pleading of the woman in front of her tore Therese's heart. She could understand that pain, for she herself wouldn't bear to lose März. A child's death was a horrible thing. And even more so for this one, since she was a beautiful little girl as much as she could see from the clutching arms of the queen…_

"_Lady Sophie, please remain strong! Let's believe in the female sage…" At this Therese tensed up. Sure she knew how to cure illnesses, with the herbs she found in the forest, she could help people at the brink of death, to the point that it was almost legendary. But rising the dead? That wasn't, just wasn't possib-._

"_**Do not call anything impossible**__.__**"**__ Wildly Therese looked around. That voice… The pair seeking her help looked at her oddly, from which she presumed that they hadn't heard the words that seemed to echo throughout the room. Or was it then perhaps her mind..? So, she smiled reassuringly, an act they understood wrong and a couple of moments later she ended up with a dead child in her arms and a memory of the noblewoman thanking her with tears in her eyes as she was guided out by her male companion._

"_What am I going to do now..?" Therese sighed and desperately looked around. Then her eyes stranded on the petite corpse on her lap. As she had seen earlier, she had truly been a beautiful child, died not too long ago. And then she realized, due to the small amount of dirt upon the poor thing, that she had been dug out from a grave. Her eyes widened at this realization, and she carefully put the child on the table in the middle of the room. Then, a sudden chuckle sent a chill up her spine._

"_**Quite the desperate one, that queen"**__, said the same voice she had heard earlier. And as it did, Therese suddenly found herself surrounded by deep, cold darkness. Tensing up again she tried not to show her fear to whoever (or _what_ever)it was causing all this. Of course she failed miserably, at least on her own standards._

"_W-Who are you?" Ah, how her voice trembled. She didn't even bother to wish the thing didn't hear the trembling, for the answer she got only a few seconds later told that it did._

"_**No need to be frightened, I am not about to harm you"**__, it said with a tone that was perhaps supposed to be trustworthy, and could had been, had it not been for the voice itself. The thundering out-from-this-world voice just screamed not to be trusted outright. __**"As for who I am, you may call me Ido."**_

/FBW\

"_So, you are what we humans call impulses?" Therese's frightful tone had changed for a slightly curious, yet wary one over the short conversation they had had for a while now. During that time the odd force that had entered her current home had told her about itself, and she found herself believing every word. That wasn't too hard actually, seeing that the one telling her these things was formless darkness that spoke straight to her mind. But one thing made her wonder about the whole thing._

"_Why are you telling me this? And… What are you doing here in the first place?" What would a being like Ido want from a mere healer like herself? Her question caused another dark chuckle to thunder around her._

"_**Why, you ask? Because I have a proposition for you"**__, Ido said. Somehow the line made Therese shiver. Nevertheless she waited patiently as Ido kept a rather dramatic pause. Did it do it on purpose? Or was her mind playing tricks on her? After a moment the eerie voice boomed around her once more._

"_**I have the power to bring that child back"**__, it said, making her turquoise eyes widen in wonder and suspicion. There was a moment at this point where Therese could had sworn that the darkness smirked before continuing. __**"I am willing to lend you that power, help you with this task you have been given, should you choose to let me."**_

_If that wasn't the most suspicious offering Therese had ever heard, she didn't know what was. The few things that made her suspicious were no little tings either, seeing that it was coming from an amorphous void stirring around her. Even more so when one took in account what Ido had only few moments ago told her about itself. There was bound to be something behind that offer. Therese was no fool, no, she was an intelligent woman. She would not allow herself be fooled._

"_What is in it for you, if I may ask? I see nothing you would gain for lending that power to me", she said with a slightly wavering but strong voice. From the response she received she knew Ido had been expecting it. The void seemed to become ever so slightly thicker as it purred its answer._

"_**There is something I ask in return, as you have concluded, no doubt. Only a little payment of my help, nothing more"**__, it said with a tone that was perhaps supposed to sound… charming? It failed in any case, which Ido seemed to notice too, as its voice returned to something resembling normality. __**"My only request is a favor in return, later in time."**_

_A favor? Therese didn't know what to make of it. She knew it was a trap. She knew how valuable a human life was, the "favor" would most certainly not be a small thing. And in the end she had no need for this power, she thought. She would not, of course, be able to bring the child alive again without it, but that wasn't something she would regret. In the end, she would just move to another forest with März if it came to that. Ido seemed to sense her thoughts, as it gave out a feeling of negative energy, before it seemed to come to think of something. Therese had no idea how she was able to discern any of that from the swirling darkness. A feeling of some sort?_

_Her thoughts were interrupted as the voice returned, this time with a hint of self satisfaction in it._

"_**What if I were to additionally cure your son's blindness?"**_

/FBW\

It was quite obvious what she chose in the end. Years had passed since that night when a healer met the dark force that was impulses. The woman's son was the most precious thing in the world for her. She took the offer, she cured the child, she saw the happiness her son gained in the world of light. What was all of that worth? In the end, did she not lose the light that shone in her pitiful world, was her son not pushed in a well of all things to die, was she not crucified as a witch?

_What burns this body is…_

This world… Its people that try so hard to mean something in the eyes of other people. They destroy each other in order to gain that goal, and yet the only ones who remember them are the ones they destroyed. It is disgusting.

_Deceptive flames that extol purification…_

Those who try to live their life in peace end up either corrupted on the way, or find themselves buried under layers of earth before their time. The ones taking their place in the world do the same, time after time, over and over again. A wheel of madden misfortune. And that is accepted as a norm, something everyday and meaningless.

_What burns this heart is…_

Pathetic. Hateful. They should all disappear. Those pigs deserve to be slaughtered before the world they so desperately try to find a place in. That place… To be seen as something acceptable, something great, something admirable. And they keep building up…

_Hateful flames that sing of revenge…_

Corpses, filled with destroyed dreams, smashed lives, lost dignity, fractured images of false hope and love. One by one they find themselves there, among all the others, desperately trying to find their way to salvation that is long gone for them. They don't deserve it. They don't deserve a place in that paradise that forgives any soul. No, they should descend.

_Hunger and disease, suspicion and slaughter…_

That is why they must be punished. They must be thrown away like puppets they are, manipulated and deceived, promised of something they will never have. And they will fall. Down, down, they fall by the hands of one another. Mankind… Under layers of lies and covers they are all the same. Killing, killing each other for ridiculous things, they wouldn't need help in destroying themselves.

_Dark era dwelling in the depths of Id…_

Darkness within every heart, madness in every mind… It needs only a little push to wake their inner instability.

_Start a chain reaction like the Black Death…_

They kill, kill and kill each other without remorse, without guilt. They find themselves rightful to do so, flooding themselves in self deception. And then they are the ones killed. Revenge after revenge, the wheel turns around and around in a sweet pretence of a life. They never see it, they never realize it. There are no victims, merely continuation to a bloodied story, a history recited over and over again.

_März, even if you fell into hell…_

/FBW\

…_I __still__ love__ you…_

Clenching her petite hands into fists the frail doll looked at those beloved features possessed with swirling darkness with defiant eyes. Silence fell over the scene as the other two turned to look at her after she had opened her mouth, saying after all this time the name that belonged to her long lost life. The name of the one most important person to her.

Said person looked startled at first, before his face gained a raged look as he realized the meaning of that name. Of course it was not the man himself, not anymore. It was Ido, that same force that was the beginning of this all. It was painful looking at those features twisted in hatred towards her. But she knew this was the only way.

As she had realized what it meant when Ido took over Mär's body, Elise had desperately tried to think what could save him. For, in the end, it was his happiness she wished over all. When she fully understood that, she had taken a look at the memories she had shut away a long time ago. There she found the thing she had dismissed and ignored to be true. She herself wouldn't be able to give him happiness.

It tore her heart, what was left of it anyway, to think that she would have to let him go, give him away to the light for good. But she had understood it, as painful as it was. And she knew what to do.

So, Elise straightened her back and, as much as she feared, stood up against the impulses. From the corner of her eye she could see the woman's, that woman's disbelieving eyes. She most likely couldn't believe what she had just heard. Elise couldn't really blame her for that. Even if she wanted to. Mentally the doll pleaded for God, if there ever was one, that that woman's light was strong enough.

"Mär's real name is März von Ludo-!" As she was shouting this declaration, she was cut off by an invisible force tossing her aside. The pain was horrible, even if in this lifeless body of a doll she shouldn't had been able to feel pain. Before long she realized that the pain wasn't coming from her body after all. It was coming off her very soul, being violently ripped off the body she had accustomed to. From that she knew this was it. Expecting to fall into an endless oblivion she closed her eyes from the world she hated, pitied and loved. The world she cursed and prayed for.

The last thing Therese von Ludowing saw of that world was a glint of light shining from the darkness…

/FBW\

If the shock of hearing her loved one's name leaving the girl's lips had been great, it was nothing compared to the one that overcame Elisabeth when she saw that same girl laying there, motionless and broken, as she finally saw what she really was: a doll, or maybe just a bit more than that. Then it came to her. She was dead. Elise was dead. With that understanding coming over her, Elisabeth felt her eyes fill with the salty liquid that was tears. One by one they started running down her cheeks, falling off to the ground.

The possessed man smirked at the sight mockingly as he lowered the baton slightly after stealing the life of the once-healer. The deal was off, he mused and turned back to the white clad woman in front of him. A slight confusion entered the dark mind at the notion of tears falling off her cheeks. She was crying, why? They had not been friends, that Ido knew for sure. So why was the woman shedding tears at the sight of that broken doll? He shook it off, however. It did not matter.

"Pitiful", he said coldly, gaining the attention of the blond woman once more. To his surprise, instead of hatred he had expected, he saw something else on her delicate features. Determination. Understanding. What was this? Suddenly the woman straightened up and looked at him with eyes that flowed with those two emotions, along with grief and something more, something he couldn't quite grasp.

"Mär…" As that simple nickname left her lips, accompanied by that look, something, within the trap Ido had created, moved. No. NO!

Taking a step forward Elisabeth spoke to the one she that only now realized who he in reality was. It hadn't taken her long to understand. Understand the sacrifice Elise had made. She would not let that sacrifice be because of nothing. So she repeated the name again, only to make the man's features gain a look of hatred and… perhaps… fear?

"You are too late. He is long gone, he is-"

"Mär, I know you are in there!" She very nearly shouted the line, cutting the being off. "You have seen what it made you do, haven't you? You didn't want this to happen, did you?" As she asked her questions, she found a trace of something changing on those features. It was only for a small moment before returning to that increasingly deranged look, but it gave her courage to continue.

"I know you didn't. I know you. Mär, I…"

"Silence! You are wasting your breath, he will never-!"

Once more he was cut off by the woman, but this time not with words. For suddenly she was no longer few yards away in front of him. As he had been talking, she had swiftly closed the distance between them and, of all the things she should and would had done, embraced him in a tight hug.

At that same moment, the sun climbed over the horizon.

* * *

A/N: Hikari: Okay... I'm sorry for the lateness once more. I have a reason for it. A while ago I... lost something and with it all the will to write. I've got back to writing just few days ago actually. And then there was the theme of this chapter and then I couldn't contact either of my possible betas to ask whether they could proof read it. So... But, anyhow, I'm back and writing again~!

And there's four reviews to answer!

**WitchJuliana**: Nooo I couldn't write any more of this than the next chapter and the epiloque. I think. And yes, you were right, as you can read.

**pika318**: No, I did mean a proloque, 11 chapters and an epiloque. If you check, you can see that the first chapter is a proloque~! And thank you, for the alert~! ^^

**dawntodusk**: Thank you, thank you. I hope I'm not disappointing your expectations with this chapter~ And yeees 13 and 77. My favorite numbers XD (btw THE HUG!)

**Silver Flare of Spirit**: Thank you~ And to you too, I hope I'm not disappointing you!

Thank you to everyone for being so understanding! I don't deserve you!

About the chapter itself: As I said, no beta this time, because I wanted to get this up as soon as possible when I finished it. I really, REALLY hope I didn't mess this up, I'm not that good at writing climaxes. It was torture writing this, most of the time T^T. But it's done. Finally.

Again, sorry for the delay, and 'till next chapter!

Bai~! *curls up inside a blanket*


	12. That Shining Era

A/N: Hikari: Oh, my... It's the last chapter. Beside the epilogue...s. Betaed once again by the wonderful **dawntodusk**. And once again there's some **Defade**'s translations. Enjoy~!

* * *

Chapter 11: That Shining Era

The horizon was slowly but surely bleached by the rising sun. With it the whole world seemed to just light up in bright luminance. That moment, just before the world woke up to the golden sphere's rays, everything was still. That moment, everything was silent.

Within that world of light a patch of darkness could be seen. And within that darkness, two figures could be found, each contrasting each other as the white clad woman embraced the darker toned man tightly. Unlike she feared, the man didn't move. He didn't push her away, nor did he tell her off. He just stood there, unmoving. But she knew he wasn't simply keeping still. She could sense the battle going on within his mind. She could feel darkness trying to take control again, but being fended off by something else.

Märchen… No, März was fighting for his life. He was fighting for the chance to step out into light once more. He was fighting for his freedom.

Elisabeth helped the best she could every step of the way. Whenever the darkness strengthened, she would slightly tighten her embrace. She said nothing. Words had lost their meaning, even if she had known what words to choose. Instead she remembered.

She remembered that time at the window, the moment she realized what it was like being locked up in a birdcage.

She remembered their adventures in the forest, the moon shining down on them, lighting up their way.

She remembered the wild roses they had found under the starry sky, their scent, their feel, even their thorns.

She remembered the times they laughed together, the stories of the outside world he would tell her.

She remembered the times he would listen to her worries and always find the right words to comfort her.

She remembered the promise under the setting sun.

For the first time in years she let the barriers she had built around those memories crumble, fall apart to pieces, and let them flow free, filling up her mind, hoping that some of them would reach her loved one. Concentrating she found her most loved memories of that time.

The glorious sight of his silver hair glowing in the moonlight.

His lovely eyes looking at her with understanding far beyond his age.

His boyish smile that overflowed with self-confidence.

The adorable tilt of his head when he couldn't understand something.

The feel of his lips over hers…

Picture after picture, emotion after emotion, Elisabeth only now fully realized how much she had missed him. Only now she understood how great part of her life he had been, how large part of herself she had shut away with the memories of him. He was her wings, the one who set her free, and the one who showed her the beautiful silvery world outside the castle. He was the one she loved over everything else.

All of these memories, these feelings, these pictures... The more she remembered the more tears fell down her cheeks, accompanying the ones she shed before. Not just for sadness either. All the repressed emotions came out all at once, nearly making her fall to her knees. But she didn't, for her will to aid März, to help him like he had helped her, was far stronger. So she tightened her embrace once more.

And suddenly the darkness flared once more.

/FBW\

He remembered. He remembered everything. Everything he had wondered about, the pictures that the feelings had lacked, the things he hadn't been able to explain. It all came back to him. The forests he had seen with his mother, the places they had visited, the people they had met. He remembered that certain forest, the one they had played in.

They? He had to think about that for a moment. Who else was there? When he viewed the memories, all he saw in her place was light. Her? So that person was a girl. But who was it? Who belonged to the place of that light?

Light… That thought clicked something in his mind. Not the light of day. Not the light of the moon. Not the light coming from a flame. It was not real light that could be seen, he realized. No, it was a feeling.

The question remained, what feeling was it? And for whom did he feel it for? As he tried so hard to remember, he felt darkness trying to overwhelm him again. Ido. Suddenly he knew for sure that he would need to remember. That memory was the key, the weapon he would have to use to win his freedom. Why else would the cold darkness of impulses try and keep him from remembering?

So he concentrated. Who was it? That girl, who was she?

Something kept knocking at the back of his mind, trying to make itself known. He grasped it in desperation, hoping for a clue for this riddle.

And all he saw was light. Bright, blinding, radiant light that seemed to overwhelm him in Ido's place. Such a familiar light… Light! She was… That girl was his light! The light he had searched for all this time! That light, that feeling, he knew what it was. And then he knew, he knew who the girl was.

Her name was…

/FBW\

All of the sudden Elisabeth felt the man's arms move. They were rising. And the darkness was still there! Oh no, he hadn't lost the fight, had he? Had her love not been enough? She closed her tearful green eyes in sorrow and waited for those arms to push her away. Was this it? The end of their battle for freedom?

The man's arms rose higher and higher. Then, suddenly, against what she expected, they wrapped around her, returning her embrace. She heard a quiet whisper in her ear.

"Elisabeth…"

Following that single, simple name, the darkness around them and within him shattered into pieces, like fragile glass that was struck with a force powerful enough to grind stone to mere dust.

As the pieces started to fade out from existence, the two stood there, quiet, unmoving. They both were in a shock, neither could quite believe what had just happened. Elisabeth tried to comprehend the meaning of the crumbling darkness, while Märchen, no, März was overwhelmed by his newly received memories.

It is possible that they would have stayed like that for a long while, had it not been for the sudden rays of sunlight that passed through the disappearing void. The woman had her back towards the rising sun, but the man was facing it, and after spending so long in darkness he wasn't used to direct bright light. Thus he was startled by the luminance.

The moment he let go of Elisabeth in order to shield his eyes, she snapped out from her trance as well. Seeing her loved one shielding his eyes with a frown on his features frightened her.

"A-Are you okay?" Her voice was still a bit shaky because of the emotional turmoil. The man shook his head to get rid of the colors floating over his sight, scaring the woman for a bit, before smiling.

"I'm alright, the light just…" In fact he didn't know what to say about the light. It was new to him, the brightness of it, after such a long time. So… "I guess I will just have to get used to it once more", he said with a light chuckle. Elisabeth sighed in relief and smiled. He was back to normal. She thought so at least. Though it wouldn't hurt to make sure of it.

"Is… Is it gone? That… being?" The man looked at her for a moment, before nodding with a rather odd expression. It was like he had only now fully realized what it meant, which was not too far from the truth. He was free. He was free of Ido, free of revenges, free of all the tragedies. Free.

With that affirmation, Elisabeth looked behind her with eyes of hope that was just there, flickering like a dying flame. Following her gaze the man immediately knew what she was looking at, and before she could ask the question forming on her lips, he shook his head.

"She is already gone", he said in a sad tone, voicing out the obvious, painful truth. Saying it out loud was like blowing the flame out, as sorrow entered the woman's features. He hated to see her like that, even when he was feeling similar grief himself. To do something about it he, rather awkwardly as he still tried to keep himself from being blinded by the rising sun, closed the miniature distance between them once more, embracing the woman again in comfort as she nodded, acknowledging his statement fully.

"I know, I just…" She swallowed to prevent her voice from breaking. She had cried enough in her opinion, though her eyes and throat seemed to disagree. The feeling of the man's arms around her was soothing however, so she didn't feel as bad as she could had been feeling without him there.

Suddenly the man realized that he was still holding the baton in his right hand. He couldn't use it anymore, nor did he wish to, for he now realized that it was one of the chains keeping him captive. Releasing Elisabeth from his arms, his golden eyes looked around for a moment before landing on the well beside them.

With determination he took a couple of steps towards it. Then he forcefully threw the baton down into it, back where it belonged.

Suddenly, following the action, deep rumbling thundered over the castle grounds, and for a short moment the two almost believed Ido had came back. That belief was shot down by the sight they encountered when they turned around to face the castle itself. The magnificent building was slowly crumbling away, a fact that made Elisabeth stare at it in surprise and wonder. On the other hand, realization dawned upon her companion.

"The castle was Ido's creation, so now that it's no longer needed…" The baton had been the last bit of the darkness within the grounds, and sending it down the well… It made sense the castle wouldn't remain after Ido was gone. As he thought of this, the woman thought for a moment of those words, before her eyes widened in sudden understanding.

"Then… Those paintings…", she muttered, picking the man's interest.

"Paintings?" For a moment he couldn't see what she meant. Sure, there were a lot of paintings in the castle, Ido had had a small obsession with them, something about them affecting people's impulses, but he really didn't-. His eyes widened in turn. Unless… "You were in that room, weren't you?"

Before she could stop herself, Elisabeth blushed lightly, like a child caught doing something forbidden, and nodded carefully.

"I really had hoped you wouldn't have seen that", he muttered, grimacing slightly. It did explain a lot. Like how she had ran away like that. He would probably not had expected anything else from her. He felt he had to explain when he saw the questioning look in her eyes. "Those paintings were… well, you could say reminders. Of the amount and nature of the tragedies I conducted. Ido has always been obsessed with number seven and apparently there had to be seven of those as well and…" He trailed off at the sight of confusion over her features, realizing that she probably had no idea what he was talking about. Which was very true. Right.

Suddenly his sense of normality was turned upside down. In the world he knew revenge and impulses, death and despair had been something every day, normal. Now, he knew, everything would be the opposite.

Luckily he wouldn't have to face the new world alone. The confusion was pushed aside by a gentle smile as Elisabeth understood the trouble he was having.

"Why don't you tell me all about it while we leave this place, März… Märch…" The man in question looked at the woman with an amused smirk. It really wasn't obvious what she should call him, for while his real name was März von Ludowing, for the past years he had been living as Märchen von Friedhof. He didn't even look just like either of them anymore. His features were still that of the conductor, but the light he had regained made him so much more like the boy she had fallen in love with all that time ago. He looked like a mix of both of them. He _was_ both of them. Elisabeth thought for a while before bursting in a smile as radiant as the sun itself.

"I will just call you Mär", she said. Mär smiled as well, taking a step towards the nearest gate out from the grounds of the used-to-be castle, with a gesture that clearly said, "Shall we?". The woman nodded, but before they made any further move away from the place, she walked to the doll that used to be Elise. It was broken and lifeless, a miserable sight that made Elisabeth swallow her tears again. Gently she lifted the doll to her arms and returned to the man.

Mär looked at her with sad eyes, but smiled nonetheless. As they stated their way off the grounds, he looked up to the sky that was bleached with light gold. His eyes were already adjusting to the radiance. Quietly he thought to himself:

_Mutti, the light… is warm._

* * *

A/N: Hikari: I'm seriously going to freaking cry. I can't believe it's the last chapter. I'm missing everyone already! Q^Q Well, I do have the epilogue left, so I guess I shouldn't cry yet. Ah, and not just epilogue, epilogue**s**!

But before I go to that, I'm answering some reviews. For the second last time. Wow.

**pika318**: Thank you! I had been really nervous about both of those things. First of all whether or not I could pull off writing Therese, and, as I said before, I'm not used to writing climaxes. This is the first story that's gotten so far XD

**dawntodusk**: I owe you so much, thank you a million times! *hugs* And yes, glad you liked Therese written by me~ I really was nervous ^^" And the Yoiyami part! I just had to write it when I came to that spot. I was listening to Yoiyami at the time XD The hug.. I'm really glad I got it right ^^

**WitchJuliana**: I know, right? It was so hard writing that, since I've really grown to like her. At least this my version of her. And I'm thinking this is the happy ending you were hoping? ^^

About the chapter: Before anyone comes and smacks me in the face with this, yes, I know Mär is supposed to be dead. I mentioned nothing about it, because I couldn't figure out how to make it work so that I could give you the happy ending of Elisabeth and Märchen without too much confusion. So I had to "forget" that little fact ^^ Though if you want an explanation I have one ready, so do ask. I dare you! :D

This is officially the first long story I've ever finished! Of course there's the epilogues, but I'm considering the main part of the story over. Okay, you must be getting annoyed with me mentioning epilogues with a "s" in the end, am I right? Okay, I'm telling, before anyone decides to choke me.

My problem of 13 chapters solved itself by making me write two separate epilogues. Yes, **two**. There's the light epilogue, and then there's the dark one. But here's the thing: I'm only putting up one of them to the end of this story, the other I'm publishing on it's own. So you're getting to read them both, of course, but I have a problem, which I'm hoping to solve with your help:

Which one do I put up here and which one do I put elsewhere?

I'm asking you, for, in the end, I **am** writing this to you guys ^^ So you get to decide! I'm making the final decision a week from now, on Christmas Eve, so there's time until then. Note: the light one, which is currently the longer one of the two, has some actual plot, while the dark one has some... very SH:ish features that we have seen before in canon. That's all you get for now!

Now, before this get's any longer (because it's too long already), I'm ending this A/N here~!

Adieu~!


	13. Epilogue: Song of Dawn

A/N: Hikari: And here it is... The light epilogue, since 4/5 of the reviewers told me to put this one. Now, while you read this, I will excuse myself and enter my "crying over the end of my first ever long story" corner. Oh, and there's the translations to lyrics by **Defade** thing, just to make sure you don't think I'm smart enough to do it myself. Enjoy~!

* * *

Epilogue: Song of Dawn

The morning dawned once more over a small town, the sun sleepily climbing up to the sky, its rays finding their way through the windows and to the eyes of the townspeople. As they started waking up, and the town showed signs of life again, a lone traveler was almost lazily walking down the main street. While walking past the many houses he observed the waking life, the children that took running around the streets, the merchants opening their stores, the elders greeting each other and wishing them another pleasant day.

The traveler was stretching his arms when he caught a sight of three particular boys standing outside of what seemed much like a shop. Curious he listened to their conversation as he slowly walked to their general direction.

"You think they're inside?" the smallest for them asked, receiving a nod from the one standing next to him.

"Yea, at least she is. I saw her from the window just now", he said confidently, the other two obviously trusting his words, as he was the eldest of the three. The remaining boy of the three grinned.

"Let's go then!" And the three all but ran to the door of the shop, opening it and entering. The traveler looked at the shop with questioning eyes. It was an old building, its days of glory already behind, but somehow it emitted a cozy and comfortable presence. Tilting his head in wonder he approached the building and noted a sign above the door. "Bookshop", it simply read. He decided to step in, wondering what would three boys want from a bookshop of all things.

Inside of the shop indeed showed it to be exactly what the sign said. The walls were covered in shelves filled with books, old and new. The furniture was old-fashioned and beautifully carved, although probably as old as the shop itself. There were some cozy chairs and a table in one corner that wasn't filled with books, giving the place a homey feeling. On the desk at the front of the shop he spotted a doll in white clothing. It too seemed old and he could see signs of repair in it. Other than that the doll seemed almost alive.

Chatter from the back of the store made the traveler remember the cause for him entering in the first place. Looking up he saw the three boys, accompanied by a woman who seemed oddly familiar looking. Glancing at the doll once more he realized that the woman looked almost identical to it, though much older. The same blond hair and features, although their eyes were of different color. Again, with this mystery solved, he turned his attention to the group.

"Please ma'am, we would love to hear it", the youngest boy was saying. The other two nodded in agreement and looked at the woman pleadingly. The woman looked at the three with a smile on her lips and she chuckled.

"Fine then, I will read it to you... again", she said, making the three cheer in joy. As they hurried to take seats at the cozy corner, she entered a door at the back, and he could hear her speaking.

"Mär, could you look after the shop for a while? I got asked to read the story again." Her tone was light and the traveler could hear from her voice that she was still smiling widely. A response was immediate, as he heard a male voice answering something he didn't catch. Then the woman was already coming back, carrying with her a book with a blue cover. She noticed him and smiled.

"My husband will be with you in a minute", she said before sitting down on one of the chairs. True enough, the door opened soon after and a man came out. He had something of a respectable aura around him, but not in a way that would make you try to hide from him. The man had black and silvery hair, despite not being too old, which was tied back with a dark ribbon. He was of average height, taller than the woman and the traveler himself, but not overly so. His striking amber eyes looked at him with interest.

"Can I help you?" he asked. The traveler shook his head lightly, saying that he was only looking. Nodding the man set himself at the desk. He could had heard wrong, but he could had sworn that the man greeted the doll. Pretending to look through the selection of various books he turned his attention back to the group around the woman, who had just opened the book, looking at the three boys with an amused expression. Then she started reading.

"_That brightly shining era in which you're smiling even now. __  
__Without hating anyone or regretting death, let's meet there for sure."_

As the traveler listened to those words spoken in a gentle tone, he smiled and exited the shop, leaving the scene behind. Once outside, he looked to the east, at the horizon and the rising sun, and muttered a single line.

"I wonder... What kind of story awaits in the next horizon?" With that he stretched his arms again and continued on his journey. As his steps faded out from the stage of this sleepy little town, the story finally reaches its end. Or does it?

_"We will continue to circle about..."_

* * *

A/N: Hikari: *sobs* I can't believe it's finally the end. I... wow. Ten months it took and here we are. Just... wow.

*cough* Now, marveling aside, I'll explain a couple of thing about this epilogue. As you noticed, this is more or less what I see happening to Elisabeth and Mär a couple of years later. They open a bookshop. *shot* Yes, I know. But that's what I see happening, since I don't think Elisabeth would like to return to home to her brother, and Mär really wouldn't fit in, living in forests and gloomy castle of doom place... And I don't know if he would be able to not kill the king XD. So yes, a bookshop. And Elise's there too, in the dress we saw at the end of Merucon!

So, now that that's explained, we have the last reviews I'll answer! Okay, that might be a lie, since if I get a particularly interesting one, I'll answer to that privately~. So, here we go:

**pika318**: Well, that was based on a line in Torikago, "a sudden kiss under the setting sun". So it might or might not actually be canon, but that's how I see it ^^ (on random note: no matter how many times I write your nick, I always have to check how to write it at least two times XD).

**WitchJuliana**: ...or UKxVietnamShipper4EVR as you are now. (You got me confused there for a moment XD). Ahaha hard decicion, huh? Light it ended up being~

**Silver Flare of Spirit**: I knooooow. I just couldn't leave Elise behind ;_; And I don't think it would have fitted with either of Elisabeth's or Mär's personalities to leave her like that.

**NEKO NO GIN**: Nekooo~! And inners too XD *cough* Yes, your reviews would had been welcome. But I don't blame you ^^ I'm glad you liked~ And unfortunately no dark ending here~ The Laurants have spoken! It'll come separately.

**dawntodusk**: *hugs* Thank you so much for being my beta! Luv you forever for it~! I really liked writing that part ^^ His confusion was something I wanted to write and I hope I got it right. And you've got a point in that fairytale ending thing. This was supposed to be a fairytale in the end ^^

The End, huh? Any guesses on the identity of the mysterious traveller? He has one, but I'll pull a Revo here and never reveal who he is~ You can make your own theories!

Now, to finally end this for the last time, Merry Christmas to you all! Don't eat too much!

Auf Wiedersehen~!


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